I Must Be Crazy
by TakeMeorLeaveMe
Summary: After living in silent solitude for 6 months at the X-Mansion, any hope for quiet newcomer, Raven, to assimilate into a normal life was beginning to dwindle. Can Dr. Pool crack the mute? Not the best summary, but whatever! DEADPOOL!
1. Chapter 1

_Alright, just gonna put it out there that I have just recently started reading the Deadpool comics. However, I have seen that Wolverine movie (horrible what they did to Deadpool) and have done a sufficient amount of research on him to hopefully produce something of value. _

_Also, I think that the lack of Deadpool fanfictions is just horrible and should be fixed. _

_So usual disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or any of the X-Men. I own my own character who will be introduced if you keep reading. Rate & Review as usual!_

_Oh btw:_

**_This is white box_**

_This is yellow____box_

* * *

"Oh Looooooooooogan!"

Wolverine cringed at the all too familiar voice that echoed through the halls of his school. He glanced over at Storm, his partner in running the mansion, who shrugged and rolled her eyes.

"Hey, he's closer to you than he is to me. You should go find him before he starts terrorizing the students." she said. Wolverine growled to himself and stood up from his desk, grumbling as he made his way into the courtyard of the mansion. As he walked, he heard his students chatter excitedly about the red clad loudmouth who had just barged into the mansion and had already managed to create a scene. He had heard something about the "creepy red guy demanding tacos" pretty much from every student he walked by.

"Ugh! Out of this whole huge place do you mean to tell me there's not a single taco for me to eat?!" the masked man shouted.

**_"I told you we should've stopped at Samantha's before coming all the way out here!"_**

_"But that would've taken too long!"_

_**"Yeah, but at least we would've had tacos and wouldn't have to ask all of these special kids for one."**_

"Hehe, you guys called them special." the red clad man giggled to himself.

"Damnit, Deadpool! I told you that if you're going to visit bring your own damn food!" Wolverine shouted, running past a group of students.

"Ah! Logan finally!" Deadpool exclaimed happily, rushing over to meet his longtime...ally? Would that be the right word?

"You've gotta tell me where you keep your tacos! I don't think I can go on much longer without them!" he whined. Wolverine pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, feeling a migraine coming on. They always seemed to happen when Deadpool was around.

"Deadpool for the last time you can't keep eating all of our-"

"Hey! Who's that!? I've never seen her around! You think she'll know where the tacos are?" Deadpool asked, peeking around Wolverine's shoulder. Wolverine glanced behind him, seeing a familiar black clad figure float through the crowds of people like a shadow. He felt a sinking feeling in his gut. That person was Raven, probably on one of her rare trips to the kitchen in order to make...you guessed it...tacos. The problem was she was alarmed easily, often with near deadly consequences.

"Deadpool, you really should leave her alone. She doesn't know where the-"

It was too late. The Merc with a Mouth, and the world's shortest attention span, was already on his way to her.

"Damnit, Deadpool!" Wolverine cursed, trying to make his way through the throngs of people, but to no avail. He was already too far away.

"Hey lady! Laaaaaady!" Deadpool called after the hoodie clad woman.

_"Damnit, what's her problem?"_

**_"Maybe we should be louder."_**

"Good idea." Deadpool said to himself before shouting as loud as his lungs would let him "HEY LAAAAAAAADY!"

She still kept walking, making her way through the crowds of people with remarkable ease. Her hood was up, but he could see a long dark cord trailing from inside and into her pocket.

"Ah, so she's got one of those..."Deadpool struggled for the word.

**_"IPods?"_**

"Yeah! That thing!" he exclaimed.

_"I hate those things! None of the ladies can ever hear our awesome pickup lines with those things in!"_

"Yeah. And more importantly, they can't tell us where the hell the freaking tacos are!" Deadpool screamed in agony. Suddenly, the gears in his fucked up head started turning.

"Well, I've already tried the polite way...let's try the impolite way." he said mischeivecusly to himself.

"Hey, lady!" he yelled, reaching out and grabbing the young woman's wrist. Without warning and with shocking speed, the woman grabbed the man's hand and pressed the pressure points in his wrist in order for him to release her. Then she spun him around and pinned him to the wall...or at least tried to. Deadpool could tell what she was trying to do and countered, knocking the feet out from under her and pinning her to the ground, thoroughly amused by the look of shock on her face, as if nobody ever managed to counter her before. With one swift movement, he yanked the cords out of her ears.

"Ya know, if you keep listening to your tunes this loud, you're gonna go deaf." he warned her. The black haired girl narrowed her eyes and struggled against the man. She hadn't had to defend herself from a serious opponent in such a long time, she must've gotten rusty.

"Now, with that out of the way, could you tell me where the tacos are?" he asked. The girl blinked up at him, completely shocked. Did he know she was going to make some tacos? But how? Was he a mutant? She had never seen him around before. And even if she didn't see him, she Definately would've at least heard him.

"What's wrong?" he asked "Cat got your tongue?"

She blinked up at him, not sure how to communicate her handicap to the strange man. Suddenly, his weight was lifted off of her by none other than Wolverine.

"Raven, you alright? Did this guy hurt you?" he asked.

"Ohhhh, so your name is Raven? Very nice. Dark, but sexy. I like it!" her assailant exclaimed with glee. Raven felt her cheeks heat up as she stood up, brushing her clothes off.

She nodded to Wolverine, keeping her dark eyes fixed on the floor. Satisfied with her response, Wolverine dropped Deadpool onto the floor.

"Ow!" he cried in mock hurt, looking up with a pleading expression through his mask at the black haired woman "C'mon, lady, I'm sorry! I just want to know where the tacos are! Please! I'll do anything."

Wolverine rolled his eyes and prepared to grab Deadpool by his collar and haul him out of the mansion.

"Look, bub, she doesn't want to-"

Raven smacked Wolverine's hand out of the way, looking at him as if trying to communicate her desire to him.

"Really? You WANT him to go with you for tacos?" the new headmaster asked, astonished. Ever since she arrived at the mansion over 6 months ago, she had refused any outside contact other than himself. Now, she was willing to take this loudmouth down to the kitchen to share her favorite food with him.

Raven nodded, wordlessly, a rare shadow if a smile crossing her usually frowning face. Deadpool's eyes lit up as he jumped up with a newfound energy.

"Ha! In your face, fuzzball!" he taunted Wolverine, who glared dangerously in response. He gulped nervously and hid behind Raven, who closed her eyes and held a hand up to her lips to hide the smile that cracked her features.

"Now, come, lady! Onward to tacos!" the red clad Merc shouted. Raven gave Wolverine an apologetic look before walking away, leading a cheering and dancing Deadpool to the kitchen. Wolverine shook his head and sighed. Out of all the people to make a breakthrough with the reclusive young girl, he would never would've guessed that Deadpool would be the one to do it.

Oh well, at least it gave him less to worry about.

"Sooooooo, Raven right? I'm Deadpool. Merc with a Mouth and god among men. Yeah, I'm pretty much a big deal." he chattered away as they walked. The students stared at the pair strangely, never seeing the dark haired girl with anyone but Wolverine before, as they walked into their classrooms.

Raven blushed softly. She had heard stories about the Merc with a Mouth when she was still in business. In fact, she even stole a couple of contracts from him on some occasions. These were things she wished she could say.

She touched her throat tentatively with the tips of her fingers, recalling the foul memory of how she became a mute with a shudder. That was something she would be more than happy to keep from the talkative man.

"You don't talk much, do ya?" he asked her, breaking her from her thoughts. She shook her head in response, furrowing her brow to figure out how to communicate her handicap to him once more.

She pointed to her throat and then held it as if she was in pain. Deadpool's eyes widened and he nodded.

"Ohhhh...so you have like strep or something?" he asked. Raven would've sighed if she could make a noise, but since she couldnt she just rolled her eyes instead. It was a good enough for her...at least for now.

"It won't get in my tacos will it? I really don't wanna have strep in my tacos...not that it will matter very much...I'd just rather not have anything gross in my tacos." Deadpool continued. She rolled her eyes again. It wasn't like she would spit in the tacos. Even if she did have strep, she couldn't think of any way for the tacos to be infected.

The halls were empty now and quiet...well they would've been if it wasn't for Deadpool's constant yammering.

"So, how long have ya known Wolverine? I've known him since like forever! Do you know any other of the X-pals? Do you have any mutations? How many tacos can you eat? I can eat like 100!" he chattered, not even caring if Raven answered one of his questions or not. She kinda liked it. His voice was friendly and he had a sharp wit. Plus, he didn't seem to run out of things to say, very unlike Wolverine; who seemed just about as talkative as she was. At least he had the ability to talk.

She led him into the kitchen and immediately began to work on making the tacos.

Deadpool whistled in admiration as he inspected the vast and empty kitchen.

"Wow. This place is awesome!" he cheered, opening up one of the large stainless steel fridges "They've got enough food here to feed an army!"

_"And to think Wolverine didn't want to share with us!"_

"I know! What's the deal with that?!" he exclaimed. Raven stopped and looked at him strangely, wondering who he was talking to.

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you. I got a bunch of assholes in my head." he explained, tapping his head. Instead of being shocked, she just gave him a small smile and resumed her taco making.

After a while, Deadpool sat on the stainless steel table, inhaling the scent of the taco meat as it cooked in the frying pan just inches away.

"Mmmmm...that smells so good." he cooed. Raven smiled. It was her mother's recipe she was using; she had found it when she was going through her things when her and her family moved as a kid.

She scooped up some of the meat and held it out to Deadpool, offering him to try it. He snatched the spoon greedily and turned so she couldn't see him lift up his mask to eat the delicious meat.

"Oh...my...God...this...is...AMAZING!" the Merc with a Mouth exclaimed, holding up the spotless spoon in triumph. Raven's face cracked into a smile once again as she turned off the stove to let the meat simmer for a bit.

"You must be some kind of taco wizard! Tell me, which Taco god or demon did you sell your soul to in order to create such a fantastic treat?!" he asked her excitedly. A small blush appeared on her cheeks and she shrugged. It was tacos...the same kind of tacos she had been making for years since she couldn't really go out and order one herself.

"Oh right...you can't talk..." he muttered, realizing her silence again. Her smile. Faded and she set about ladling the taco meat into the crunchy, prepared shells. She noticed out of her peripherals that her new companion was staring at her. His mask prevented her from reading his emotions, which frustrated her only slightly.

"I've been wondering...what are you hiding underneath that gigantic hoodie of yours?" he asked, snatching a couple of tacos and turning around to eat them. Raven frowned. She could've asked him the same thing about his mask...in fact she wanted to. It wasn't like she was hiding anything underneath her hoodie...the extra fabric just made her feel comfortable. It was enough that nobody's attention was drawn to her body and it also made her feel as if she could slip into a dark abyss like she had dreamed of since she discovered her healing factor all those years ago. She shuddered again; yet another memory she wished to forget.

"Hahaha...nevermind...you probably are hiding the fact that you have a flat chest...it's ok...I know a lot of pretty lesbians who have flat chests." he commented. Raven's eyes narrowed to slits and she slapped him across the face with everything she had, causing him to fall right out of his seated position and onto the floor.

"Ow! Jeeze! Easy, lady, I was just kidding!" Deadpool whined, rubbing his cheek. Raven blinked, stunned at what had just happened. It had been 6 months since she had touched another human being. The sudden contact added an extra tingling sensation to her open palm as it remained frozen in midair.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked, standing up.

_**"Great, you broke her."**_

_"Maybe there's a reset button on her somewhere?"_

_**"Better fix her before Wolverine comes back and claws our faces off."**_

"You mean MY face, asshole." Deadpool muttered before snapping his fingers in front of Raven's stunned face.

"Hey? Hey, sweetcheeks? You alright?" he asked. Her black eyes flashed to his face, causing him to jump in surprise. Without warning, she shoved past him, putting her headphones back into her ears and sprinting out the door; and past Storm who had just been walking in to check up on the pair.

"You really shouldn't worry too much about her." Storm informed him "She's kinda...strange..."

_"Kinda? You can say that again!"_

_** "Not like we're one to talk."**_

"True. What's her deal anyways?" Deadpool asked. Storm shrugged.

"I really wish I knew. All I know is she was living with Gambit in Louisiana for a bit before he made a deal with Professor Xavier to send her here for some type of medical treatment. But he died before she could make it here." she explained.

"Medical treatment? She seems fine to me." he responded, rubbing the cheek she had just slapped earlier. Storm shook her head, sadly.

"I know. She doesn't spend enough time outside with people in order for anyone to notice anything physically wrong. Plus, she refuses to see a doctor...she wont even go near the hospital wing." she sighed "We don't even know if she's a mutant or not. All we know is she prefers to go by Raven and she can't speak."

"And she makes the best tacos ever!" Deadpool added, holding up one of the tacos "Have you tried one?"

Storm shook her head and held up a hand.

"No. I just ate...anyways...Logan told me about how she actually volunteered to take you here and make you tacos and we were hoping that she would open up to you..."

If Deadpool had doggie ears they'd be perked up right now.

"Wait, so are you telling me that the X-Men need MY help to crack this kid?" Deadpool asked. Storm sighed and shook her head.

"We don't really NEED you to but-"

"Say no more! Dr. Pool is on the case!" Deadpool exclaimed, snatching the plate of tacos and running out of the kitchen.

"Hey! Her room is on the fourth floor! Room 416!" Storm shouted at the red clad anti-hero as he sprinted down the empty halls. She smirked and rolled her eyes. Deadpool really was one of a kind, maybe he could get some information out of the silent girl.

Raven laid in her bed staring at the ceiling fan that spun relentlessly above her. She drummed her fingertips on her now rumbling stomach, regretting not at least grabbing one taco. She could still feel the soft fabric of that man's mask on her palm. What was his name again? Deadpool? What kind of name was that? If only she could ask.

A couple of loud knocks broke her out of her thoughts, making her jump in surprise.

"Hey, yo, Raven?" a familiar voice called to her from the other side of the thick mahogany door "This better be your room...I don't think I can handle walking in on another teenage gropefest."

Raven inhaled, bringing the delicious scent of tacos into her nasal passages. This guy really could read her mind.

She approached the door, silently as always. She gripped the cool brass handle, twisted it, and opened the door just a crack; just enough for her to see none other than Deadpool himself holding what remained of her tacos. "Phew! Thank God!" he exclaimed, a satisfied and relieved expression clear through his mask "I swear if you were another one of those horny teenagers I really would've just shot myself in the face."

Raven raised an eyebrow, not really caring about his ordeal in getting to her room, but more concerned with the fact that there was only one measly little taco on the plate. She recalled making at least 15.

"Oh! Right! Sorry about eating all of your tacos." he apologized, rubbing the back of his head "They were just sooooooo good I just couldn't resist."

Raven's eyes narrowed and she snatched the last taco from the plate. It was better than not eating at all, right?

She went to slam the door in the red clad man's face, when she was stopped by a gloved hand.

Her eyes flashed angrily up to Deadpool's white ones. Couldn't this guy see she wanted to be alone? What was his deal anyways?

"Now, is that any way to treat the man who brought you the last of the world's most delicious tacos?" he taunted her. Raven felt her temper spike within her. The reason there was only one left was because he ate them all! Besides, she did all the hard work! Where was her thanks?

"How about a tour of your room as payment?" Deadpool suggested, trying to maneuver around the shorter girl "I'd just love to get a peek at where short, dark, and sexy sleeps."

Raven used all of her strength to shove him out of her room with one hand, nimbly locking her door behind her all while keeping her taco balanced in her free hand.

"Ah so I see we have something in common." Deadpool said rather hoarsely due to the fact her arm was crushing his windpipe "We're both good with our hands."

He gave her a suggestive wink and wiggled his fingers in a sexual way, making her blush furiously and let him drop to the floor like a dead bug. She took a bite of her taco, giving him one last look before walking down the hall.

"Damn. This is gonna be harder than I thought." Deadpool mumbled as his eyes followed the dark haired girl as she ran down the hallway.

_"Is it just me or did anyone else get aroused when she pinned us up against the wall?"_

_**"It would've been better if she wasn't wearing that gigantic hoodie."**_

_"Or anything at all! Hehe!"_

"I agree! Hehe, maybe if we get close enough to her, she'll let us see her naked." Deadpool told himself.

_"Yay! Boobies!"_

_**"Excellent! Now, onward to naked breasts!"**_

"Tallyho!" Deadpool cheered before sprinting down the hall after Raven.

When he finally caught up to her, he noticed that she had her headphones back in her ears and her music on full blast. This would not do at all, especially since the possibility of seeing naked breasts was at stake.

He reached over and yanked the wires out of her ears roughly.

"I shouldn't have to keep telling a grown woman how rude it is to listen to music so loud when there's guests." he said, making sure to keep the headphones along with the iPod itself out of her grasping hands "Now what are you listening to."

Deadpool pressed the lock button on the device and the screen lit up.

"Ah, Linkin Park. Not bad...kinda angry, though dontcha think?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the device "Now let's see what else you have on here."

Raven immediately cursed not setting a password on her most precious device; she just never had a reason to before now.

Deadpool unlocked the iPod with ease and began scrolling through the songs.

"Jeeze! No wonder you're living here with Fluffy!" he exclaimed as he continued to scroll "You've pretty much sunk every last penny into the music on this thing." he gave her a mischievous wink "Unless someone is a naughty girl who pirates her music online."

Raven felt her face heat up in embarrassment. It wasn't completely uncommon for people to pirate music offline, so why did his pointing it out make her so embarrassed? Oh well, not a priority. What is a priority is getting that iPod back before he finds-

"No way! This is my jam!" Deadpool exclaimed, yanking the headphones out of the device so it would play on its speakers, loud enough for the whole hall to hear.

"I'm a Barbie girl! In a barbie world! Life in plastic! It's fantastic!" he sung, dancing ahead of her down the hall. Raven stared after him, completely mortified. She had downloaded that song when it first came out; aka waaaaaay before any of the series of unfortunate events happened that made her tastes in music (as well as her personality) go completely AWOL.

"Aw, c'mon! It's a classic! And it's totally manly for me to sing it because, let's face it, I'm awesome!" Deadpool shouted over his shoulder as he continued to dance and sing down the hallway. Raven's eyes narrowed and she ran to catch up to the dancing man. She snatched her iPod out of his hands and turned it off, shoving the device deep within her pocket.

"Good! Now, I won't have to tell you to keep that thing off next time I come by to see you will I?" Deadpool asked. Raven's eyes widened. Could that have been his plan all along? No way, there was no chance. This guy was to insane to come up with any type of plan...wasn't he?

She nodded, still a bit dumbfounded by what just happened.

"Now, I have a contract to go take care of. You think you can remember everything that I, the great Dr. Pool, have taught you thus far?" he asked. She nodded, still unsure of exactly how to respond or act in this situation.

"Great! See ya whenever, darkness." he gave her a mischievous wink "I mean, Raven."

And with that, he sprinted down the hall, presumably to the exit. Raven watched him leave, wishing that he would stay. The feeling she had in her heart was an unfamiliar one, but not one that she had no idea about. It would seem that she had just developed a tiny crush on the Merc with a Mouth. Why him? She had no idea. He was loud, crude, and obviously batshit crazy. Plus, she didn't even know what he looked like under that mask of his, not that his looks mattered all that much to her.

"Well, well, fancy seeing you out here." a sweet southern voice said from behind her. Raven turned to see Rogue standing behind her with one hand on her hip. She had seen Rogue around the campus before, but had never talked to her, or rather Rogue had never talked to her.

Raven turned to run away, but was stopped by Rogue's hand on her wrist. She noticed that Rogue made sure to grab her by the sleeve so she wouldn't hurt her. In return, Raven decided not to counter against her. Plus, she knew Rogue had powers almost identical to hers (minus the fact that Raven could control when she could use her powers), so that made them like...mutant sisters or something?

"Don't be afraid!" Rogue said in a soothing voice "I've been trying to talk to you since you got here. I thought you needed a bit of female contact, since well...you know the only people who's talked to you so far is Wolverine...and apparently Deadpool."

Raven felt her cheeks heat up at the mention of his name. Rogue's eyes widened.

"Oh no...don't tell me...you LIKE him?" Rogue exclaimed. Raven blushed even deeper and nodded, sheepishly. Rogue looked less than pleased.

"Raven, I know we aren't even really friends, but as a woman to another woman, I'd recommend keeping your distance." she advised "Deadpool really isn't...well...I mean...he has been in relationships before, but...I don't know if you and him would be..."

Raven raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly Rogue was getting at. Rogue made eye contact with Raven, suddenly realizing how futile her warnings were.

"Look, this is the most I've seen of you in six months. And if Deadpool is the reason for that, then I don't think that's particularly a bad thing." she continued "And if you need any help or just someone to talk to, I'm your girl."

Raven shrugged. She supposed it was good that she got out of her room. However, she highly doubted Deadpool would be interested in her much more with how she was currently dressed and the fact she couldn't talk. At least one of those things was fixable. However, what did he like...that was the question. And she was confident she could find the answer without human contact.

Raven smiled sweetly and the southern girl before running back towards her room.

She flung open the door and threw herself onto her bed. She reached for her faithful black laptop and opened it. While the device was loading, she though about how she would phrase the question. It wasn't like Deadpool was completely unknown. Someone out there was bound to know what he liked his lady to look like.

She wordlessly tapped her question into the anonymous question box and hit enter before she could second guess herself. Without another word, she snapped the laptop shut and slid it underneath her pillow before turning off the light and digging under the covers. She tossed herself to her left and stared out her window and at the clear night sky.

Her mind raced with thoughts of the red clad mercenary as her eyes grew heavy and everything faded to black.

Raven felt a presence next to her. Her eyes shot open to meet the white ones of an all too happy Deadpool. He laid to her left, cockily posed in a way she had only seen magicians pull off after a difficult trick. Getting into her room without her noticing certainly was a difficult trick.

"Hey there, silent and sexy. Mind if I sleep with you tonight? I get serious nighttime anxiety." he said, with a wink, "But I doubt we'll be doing much sleeping."

Raven felt her face heat up as he inched closer to her, his arm wrapping itself around her waist and pulling her onto his body. Upon this close contact, she could feel every part of him; his well toned chest, his bulging biceps, his incredibly well endowed and hardened lower member. Every part of him made her heart race. Every inch drove her wild.

"So what do ya say?" he asked her, his breath hot against her cheek "You gonna let me in or what?"

Raven tried to avert her gaze from his, her fingers tracing up and down his body. It was a difficult decision. How could anyone accept who she was and what she used to do? How could anyone accept her now? Even though he was no poster child of normalcy, could he accept her? Would he?

"So what's it gonna be?" he whispered into her ear, his hands traveling up her hoodie, underneath her black tank top and onto her breasts. Goosebumps traveled down her spine and her mouth opened in a silent moan.

"You gonna let me in or not?" he persisted. Her own hands traveled up his body and to the bottom of his mask. She rolled it up slowly, much slower than she had ever done anything in her life. The pale skin of his neck was visible and soon a well defined chin could also be seen. Her prize was still further up. Just a little bit more and-

* * *

_Ohhhhh, cliffhanger in the first chapter? That's a good sign. Haha! Alright, let me know what you think!_

_Music used (in order):_

_What You Want by Evanescence _

_Papercut by Linkin Park_

_Barbie Girl by Aqua_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer time: I don't own Deadpool or the X-Men! I own Raven and Raven's tacos!_

* * *

Harsh sunlight pierced through the darkness of Raven's sleep. The loudness of mutant children flooded her ears and her room. Nothing unusual. She looked to her left. There was no Deadpool. Of course there wasn't. She had seen stranger things that weren't real in her bed every night since she escaped that island over a year ago.

She sat up and stretched, making sure to crack her stiff bones as she did so. Might as well check the Internet for any new developments on her Deadpool question while she waited for the kids to go to class. Then she could make pancakes and coffee. Boy, did she love her some pancakes and coffee in the morning.

Raven opened up her laptop and scrubbed the mousepad, causing the black screen to light up. She hoped the answers weren't too weird. That would make things super awkward next time he visited her. If he visited her. God, she hoped he would visit her again. Nobody had made her smile the way he did since her mother died. But that was another story entirely. She never liked looking back on it.

"What does Deadpool (aka The Merc with a Mouth) like his woman to look like?" that was a simple enough question, right? Not too long and straight to the point. The answers should reflect the same, right?

Her finger tapped nimbly on the downward arrow, causing the page to move down.

"Just look at Playboy or Maxim." the highest rated answer read. Her eyes widened. It had been a while since she had seen one of those filthy magazines. Of course, she never actually read one. She just saw them on magazine racks while waiting in line at the grocery store as a kid. She wondered if anything changed about them.

She dragged her mouse over to the search engine and she typed the name of the magazine. She hit enter and waited for the results to load.

Her eyebrows raised at what she saw. The women certainly had changed since she had seen them as a kid. Instead of naturally occurring curves and naturally proportioned bodies, there were incredibly thin waists and large, freakish looking breasts and tiny asses. Also, primarily all of the women had bleach blonde hair and fake orange tans.

Raven cringed and shut her laptop. The noise was dying down now. Morning classes were probably starting by now. Wolverine would probably stop by the kitchen, have a few pancakes, and chat with her for a bit. Knowing him, he'd probably drill her for information about what made her act the way she did with Deadpool. He would know or eventually realize that she wouldn't give him an inch of what he wanted; the one thing she liked about her vocal handicap.

She remembered what Rogue had told her the previous day. Perhaps she could use some of her help. Rogue was a girl, after all. Plus, she clearly knew how to handle herself as such. Maybe she could pass down some knowledge. However, that would mean letting her in as well.

Raven bit her lip nervously. Letting Rogue in, even just a little bit, didn't mean spilling everything right? She would have to decide very carefully.

She slid her laptop into it's portable case and stood up, scratching her bed head. Her stomach rumbled. She suddenly felt something painful in her lungs, gripping the organs in a vice like grip. Raven immediately brought a closed fist to her mouth and promptly began to cough her guts out.

Why, why, why did she absorb all of that gang member's life energy all those years ago?! Couldn't she have waited until after she was given this accursed healing factor that prevented her from dying?

She stumbled and sat back down on the bed, continuously hacking all the while. When her coughs dissipated, she looked down at her hand.

The pale skin was tainted by dark red. Nothing unusual. She wiped her bodily fluid off on the inside of her hoodie. She had never touched a cigarette in her life. She had always used the highest level of SPF and made sure to limit her time in the sun and the one time she uses her mutant powers in a revenge slaying she gets stage four lung cancer. Talk about irony, right? Oh well, back to the task at hand.

Raven shook her head and rolled her eyes. This whole coughing up blood thing lost it's novelty like years ago. Now, it was just really annoying.

She slid on her old, ratty Chuck Taylor's and peeked outside. Seeing as the coast was clear, she decided to make a break for the kitchen.

As she jogged down the hall, she realized that she had forgotten her iPod back in her room. Funny, she never forgot that thing. Chalk it up to yet another thing to blame on Deadpool. Whatever, she had her laptop as backup. She could listen to that while making her famous pancakes.

After what seemed like forever, but was actually only a few minutes, Raven finally made it to the kitchen. Besides her room, here is where she loved to relax. With nothing but her music and her recipes, Raven could lose herself completely. No worrying about the past or about the horrible experiments that were done to her. No stage four lung cancer. No delusions. No paranoia. No Rogue, Wolverine, or even Deadpool. Just sweet solitude and precise measurements.

Contrary to what she usually listened to, Raven decided to go for a more...uplifting tune. This was partially due to the fact that she didn't need any third parties hearing the loud, angry, and possibly satanist music the strange mutant who lives in 416 is playing. That spelled nothing but trouble. So for today, she'd stick with some Mumford & Sons. Nice, sometimes upbeat, and growing in popularity.

"So this is what you're always listening to?" a familiar, gruff sounding voice said from behind her. Raven knew it was Wolverine, so she didn't bother turning around to see who it was. Instead, she smiled silently to herself while flipping a perfectly golden pancake onto a plate.

She could hear his footsteps as he drew closer, leaning right on the place where Deadpool was sitting just yesterday. She offered him the freshly made pancake with a soft smile and he took it.

"You don't have to put on a fake smile for me, Raven." he said, taking a bite of the pancake; not even bothering with utensils or syrup "I'm just glad to see you out again and at least listening to your music so that you can still hear people."

Raven shrugged and poured some more batter into the hot frying pan, relishing the sizzling sound it made once the heavy liquid hit the hot metal.

"So, I see you've taken a liking to Deadpool." the clawed mutant said, setting his plate down. Raven refused to make eye contact. Since when did who she like matter so much to anyone? Oh yeah, because she really didn't LIKE anyone. She was just a weird, solitary recluse. A hermit with a home if that makes any sense.

"I don't know or understand why and I'm not going to try and sway you one way or another." he continued "I just want to see some improvement with you and if he's the way to do it-" Wolverine seemed to cringe "Then I suppose it's a good thing for all of us, ok?"

Raven turned to him and smiled sweetly. His words did mean a lot to her, especially since she knew just how difficult it was for such a man's man to express his feelings. Plus, she could tell that Wolverine seemed to hate Deadpool with a passion; which understandable since they seemed to be just as different as oil and water. Or oil and rocks, to be precise.

Wolverine shook his head and looked at the pancake she was currently cooking.

"I can't believe you and him have pretty much the same diet." he muttered, shaking his head "Pancakes and Mexican food...just what kind of freak could survive on just that?"

Raven held a finger to her smiling lips as she flipped the pancake. She did like other foods, but just hearing that she and Deadpool shared a similarity made her never want to touch another kind of dish ever again.

"So what are your plans for the day?" he asked her. Raven shrugged and pointed to her laptop and then to the two parts of her hair that hung directly on either side of her face. Wolverine raised an eyebrow. Raven rolled her eyes and scanned the area for another way to communicate what she was trying to say.

She dunked her fingers in some leftover flour and smeared the soft powder into the same two strips of hair. Wolverine's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh! So you're gonna show Rogue something on your computer?" he guessed. Raven nodded, pleased that she managed to communicate. He nodded back.

"Great. It's nice to see you hang out with a lady. Especially Rogue. Whatever it is you need help with, she's got it covered," he told her, as if trying to convince her to talk to Rogue anyways. Raven would talk to Rogue one way or another today, there was no doubt about that.

Raven rolled her eyes, as if saying "No, duh, dipshit.", which made Wolverine crack a smile.

"Alright. Glad to see you've got everything figured out!" he chuckled "Now I've gotta go teach some close combat. I just hope that Kyle kid did his weekend training like I told him."

Raven nodded. Wolverine had told her a lot about his troubled student, Kyle: a mutant who could pass through anything. His reasoning was that if nobody could touch him, then why did he need to learn any combat. Ah, the arrogance and naivety of being a young mutant. Raven wished she could give the kid some pointers of her own; maybe even show him her cancer do he could see how dangerous the effects of just recklessly using powers could be.

"Alright, well, take care, Raven. Glad to see you're doing better." Wolverine said, snatching the remains of his pancake and making his exit "Great pancakes, by the way!"

Raven blushed slightly and wiggled her fingers after him before turning her attention back to her pancakes.

From the sounds of it, that boy Kyle really did remind her of how she used to be when she was younger. If she ever ran into trouble, like an injury or whatnot, she could just touch somebody and take their energy to heal herself. She never thought of what else she could be taking from them. It wasn't until Cable found her and trained her all those years ago that she learned that there is a time to rely on powers and a time to rely on personal skill. Too bad it was after she already contracted lung cancer.

She would've groaned if she could make a sound. Today was going to be a long day, especially if she kept thinking about the past. Nothing like a super sad backstory to put a damper on a perfectly adequate day, right?

The rest of the morning went off without a hitch. Raven finished making her pancakes and coffee just in time to make it back to her room to work on her comics before anyone emerged from their morning classes.

The comics were something Raven had started doing a few months after moving into the X-mansion. She had read on the Internet that if one was struggling with past issues that it was important to express them or else be haunted by them forever. Since it didn't look like she was dying anytime soon, Raven really didn't want to face eternity with her past constantly hanging over her shoulders.

"Why comics?" you might ask. Well, Raven believes that a picture is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words are also worth a thousand words. Put the two together and what do you get? In this case, you get a pretty decent number of comics basically telling all of Raven's story from start to present. Currently, they weren't the most uplifting of reads, but at least this new event concerning Deadpool would add some much needed comic relief. Haha...comic relief to a comic. Comicception.

As she typed the script to her latest comic, Raven occasionally switched back over to the tab she had opened this morning concerning the Playboy bunnies. Did she really have to look like that to gain the attention of someone as crazy as Deadpool?

She looked down at her baggy hoodie.

It had been so long since she had taken the damn thing off (minus to go take showers). She hardly remembered what her body even looked like. She hoped it was still at least halfway decent, like post escaping from experiment island- shit...and now train of thought it redirected to horrible past. Great...juuuuust gr-

There was a knock at the door causing Raven to look up from her computer screen. Shit! Was it 2:30 already? At least her clock liked to think so. Raven got up and answered the door to find Rogue standing there.

"Oh, hey, Raven." she greeted her "Wolverine said that you wanted to show me something and between teaching and trying to figure out exactly where you were I haven't really had much time to talk. But I'm free now."

Raven blinked and tilted her head to the side. She had been locked in her room for nearly six hours straight now. She found it hard to believe Rogue really had that much difficulty finding her. But whatever, she was there now. Might as well give this whole making friends thing a go.

Raven smiled and pulled Rogue into her room, making sure to shut the door behind her. It was generally understood that nobody was really allowed in Raven's room, in case you couldn't tell by the way she strangled Deadpool earlier, so letting Rogue inside was the first big step. The second would be coming up soon.

"Wow..." Rogue marveled, looking around the room approvingly "Love what you've done with the place. Totally not what I expected at all."

The walls were painted a light grey/blue and were covered with posters of Raven's favorite bands. The floors were the standard light oak wood, but had been covered with some bright blue shag area rugs. On the wall to the right was a bookshelf that stretched all the way to the ceiling that was full to bursting with books. Next to that was the not quite so filled closet and on the other side of the room there was her desk.

Raven could understand why Rogue was so surprised. Hell, if the situations were reversed, Raven would be just as surprised to not at least find any kitten corpses hanging from the ceiling inside a clearly troubled recluse's abode.

"So, uh, what did you wanna show me?" rogue asked. Raven sat on her bed and pulled her laptop onto her lap. This was part two of the opening up process: showing Rogue something on her laptop.

Rogue sat next to the black haired girl and looked at the screen. Her eyes and face showed pure surprise and shock. Raven could see the brown haired woman's cheeks change from pale to red.

"Look, raven, I like you and wanna be friend's, but not in that-"

Raven shook her head furiously, trying to get the weird image of her and Rogue engaging in sexual activities out of her head. She pointed to one of the women on the screen and then herself. She did so repeatedly until Rogue finally decided to make a guess.

"You...wanna...look like them?" she guessed. Raven nodded. It had been a while since she had seen the outside world. Maybe women like this were normal and women who looked like her and Rogue were just the mutant women? Had things really changed that much in 6 months?

Rogue had to bite her knuckle to keep herself from laughing out loud.

"But why, hon?" she asked with her southern drawl "These women are so fake, cheap, and unbearably skinny! Why on earth would you wanna look like that?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. She thought it was obvious, especially since Rogue guessed it on her own the day before.

"Is it because of Deadpool?" she asked. Raven nodded and Rogue erupted into a fit of giggles again, much to Raven's displeasure.

"Look, sugar, Deadpool doesn't really care so much about weight, hair color, and all that weird stuff." she giggled "All he cares about are women that look fine."

Raven still didn't completely understand. If the women in these magazines didn't look fine, then why were they sent out to the male public explicitly for self-pleasuring purposes (or the articles...whatever!)?

Rogue sighed.

"Ugh, ok. Look at me."

Raven obliged, doing a quick once over on her new female companion. She didn't look like the women in those magazines. She had a very nice and generously curvy figure that fit well inside of the emerald green jumpsuit she wore almost everyday.

"Deadpool goes crazy over my body and do you know why?"

Raven shook her head, feeling only slight jealousy that her crush already had his attention on another woman's body.

"Because I know what looks good on me. I know how to dress myself so all of my assets are displayed in a dignified, yet sexy way. That is what Deadpool likes."

Raven nodded, happy to hear that the strange looking orange women were not considered to be the new normal.

"So is getting Deadpool really that important to you?" the red haired southern beauty asked. Raven nodded.

"Alright, then I'm gonna suggest a serious makeover. Would you be ok with that?" Rogue asked. Raven nodded again. Makeovers were always the kind of thing she imagined sisters doing and, since she hadn't seen or heard from her sister in years, it looked like this was the closest she would get. Plus, if that meant she could grab Deadpool's attention then that would only add to the benefits.

"Ok, but can I at least get you to take off that hoodie so I can see what I'm working with?" Rogue asked. Raven frowned. She hadn't expected a part three to pop up in her making friend's plan, but it was too late to turn back now.

Raven lifted up her hoodie and pulled it over her head with ease, tossing it onto her desk as if it wasn't incredibly odd and out of character for her to do so. Rogue nodded in approval and surprise, once again.

"Wow, I expected you to be a bit more flabby considering all you eat is Mexican food and pancakes."

Raven frowned. Since when did everyone get this idea that those were the two things she ate. Didn't anyone see her make that Hot Pocket a few weeks ago?

"Alrighty then! How about you and I run into the city and do some shopping. I don't wanna overwhelm you, so we'll only go into the stores your comfortable with. And plus, since I'm technically helping out a member of the Professor Xavier's family, I can use this!" Rogue produced a platinum card from her pocket, which Raven assumed to be the school's card. It probably wasn't the most moral thing to do, but since Xavier was long dead and left a shit ton of money they might as well spend it, right?

Raven laid awake in her bed, staring at all of the bags Rogue had bought for her. On their excursion, they had bought a couple of new and identical jumpsuits, a couple of matching black masks that only covered the eye and cheekbones, some makeup, and a whole shit ton of arsenal. When they walked past the army surplus store, Raven could hardly contain herself. It had been so long since she handled any artillery of any kind.

She couldn't help but wonder if all of these things would impress Deadpool at all. Since nobody knew when he would be dropping by again, Rogue convinced her that wearing the jumpsuits everyday from now on would be a good idea. Raven shuddered at the thought. Goodbye, comfortable baggy sweatshirt. Hello, surprisingly comfortable and form fitting jumpsuits.

Granted, the outfit wasn't surprisingly different than the one Raven wore during her days as a mercenary. Now that outfit was 100% badass. Black surplus pants with black combat boots, a white tank top that cut off at her stomach, a standard issue bullet proof vest, and a whole bunch of weapons from head to toe. It wasn't sexy, but damn it looked good.

Raven rolled on her back and stared at her ceiling, the one part of her room that wasn't covered in something, and let her mind drift back to Deadpool. She wondered if he ever thought about her. Had he ever heard of the Scary Mercenary who stole at least 5 pretty large contracts from him way back when? Would he believe it was her? All of these questions she knew had the same answer: probably not.

With a final eye roll, Raven rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes to sleep.

* * *

_Ohhhh, Chapter 2! _

_Music used:_

_Pretty much anything from the album Babel by Mumford & Sons_


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3! I don't own Deadpool or the X-Men! I own Raven so please don't steal her! Also, there's like 2 lines of dialogue I borrowed from the Deadpool videogame because I thought it sounded cool, so don't get all butthurt over it. So far, I'm having a really fun time writing this story, so it shouldn't be that difficult to post chapters more often!_

* * *

Two months had passed since those fateful two days. Raven and Rogue had grown close enough that they hung out on a regular basis. Raven was still seen as being a disturbed hermit, but not quite as disturbed as everyone thought before. Nobody knew much about her, other than the fact that when given a single churro; her lust for them becomes insatiable and can only be cured with more churros or milk. And, much to Wolverine's relief, there was no sigh of Deadpool...at least not yet anyways...

"Then it's about high time there was a Deadpool sign, am I right?" Deadpool yelled up at the sky from outside the X-mansion.

_Hey, I thought you could only break the fourth wall in comics?_

"Don't be an idiot! My fourth wall breaking powers cannot be limited to mere comics! Now hurry up and write the part where I get to see Raven naked!" he demanded "No...wait...write it so ALL of the pretty ladies are naked!"

_Ugh! No! God dammit! This is still my story and I get to say who gets naked or not!_

"_Aw, she's no fun!"_

"Yeah! He's right, you're no fun!" Deadpool shouted.

_Dude, I know that! I wrote it!_

"Hm, really now...so did you write this?" Deadpool commenced dancing around like some kind of geriatric hula dancer,

_Yes, yes I did._

"Aw, come on. You couldn't have said sexy hula dancer?" he asked.

_No. Now if you don't get your ass in there, I'm going to write all tacos out of existence in this universe!_

_"Shit just got real!"_

_**"Indeed."**_

"Fine! Fine! Don't get your panties in a twist." Deadpool replied, walking into the X-mansion like a good boy.

"Wolvieeeeee! I'm hoooooome!" he called as he entered. Luckily (or unluckily) for him, Wolverine was already in the main hall, talking to Storm about something.

"Damn. Just when I thought we got rid of him." he mumbled.

"Heyyyyyyy, Logan, buddy. You think you can show me your tacos? You don't have to let me eat any...juuuuust show them to me." Deadpool asked, looking upwards ruefully. Logan raised an eyebrow. It was odd for Deadpool to demand only to see tacos and not to eat any. But then again, he was just one being of odd.

"Ugh. Another taco issue." he grumbled.

"Domt worry. I'm on it!" Rogue said cheerfully. She had been nearby and overheard the entire thing. It was all perfect. She just hoped Raven was still in her room instead of sitting on the roof like she had recently been doing.

Without another word, Rogue ran up the four flights of stairs and down the hall until she reached Raven's room. She knocked on the door frantically, praying that Raven was there.

"Oh good! Thank God you're here!" Rogue exclaimed as Raven opened the door "Guess who else is here?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. She had just been in the middle of writing the most recent issue of her comics. She couldn't afford a writer's block now, not if she wanted to keep up with everything else in her life.

"Deadpool, silly! Now hurry up and get your ass downstairs!" the excited woman exclaimed, practically jumping up and down "He wants tacos and loves looking at hot bodies! And you're gonna give them both to him! Now move!"

Raven felt her cheeks heat up dramatically. This was the moment she had been waiting for. The moment she began working out and eating slightly healthier for. The same moment that encouraged her to start wearing perfume and makeup for.

She immediately scurried out of her room, careful to make sure her black heeled boots didn't catch on the carpet. She let Rogue give her a once over.

"You look fantastic! Now remember how I told you to walk in those shoes!" Rogue reminded her friend. Raven rolled her eyes and nodded. Those walking lessons had been excruciating. She never knew that adding a couple of inches to a heel could make walking so difficult. And if it wasn't for her healing factor, she wouldve had tons of blisters and bruises by now.

"Alright! Now go catch yourself a madman!" Rogue cheered, giving her new friend a light spank on her butt for good luck as she walked past.

Raven felt her heart beating so rapidly in her chest she felt as if it was going to jump right out of her mouth. She was beginning to sweat and was worried the liquid would start chafing in...areas. She couldn't recall if the label on her costume said that the fabric was good with liquids.

As she walked, she earned lots of stares from everyone the walked past. Despite the fact that she had been wearing this outfit for months, there was still the issue of never gettimg out of the apartment that still caused some to be shocked whenever she made a public appearance. The fact that she was wearing an outfit that made her feel like one of those S&M freaks online just added to the wow factor.

When she made it to the stairs leading to the ground floor, she could hear Deadpool's voice. It was loud, as always, but made her heart skip a beat.

As she descended, she could see his red and black costume as it flailed around Wolverine demanding to see proof that tacos still exist. His insanity was quite endearing to her and she couldn't figure out why. Perhaps it was because she was a bit crazy herself.

She kept one hand delicately on the railing and she walked down each step, slowly and deliberately. She could feel the dramatic sway of her ample hips and the bounce of her breasts (which she discovered were c-cups 2 months ago). She knew that her hair also bounced with her as she walked.

She checked to make sure her black painted nails were free of any noticeable chipping, which they were. She had just applied a fresh coat of black lipstick, that matched her black leather jumpsuit perfectly, before she answered the door for Rogue.

And as she continued to walk, she could hear Deadpool's usual motormouth slow down into a completely dumbfounded long guttural sound which resembled a computer that was running on DSL.

Raven blushed. Rogue was right. It was the exact reaction from him she was expecting,

"Who's...who's...who's that?" Deadpool stammered, pointing weakly at Raven. Wolverine rolled his eyes. He knew all about Rogue and Raven's plan, so none of this was quite so surprising to him. Still, he had to admit, that skin tight leather jumpsuit was definitely a one up from that stupid hoodie.

"Don't you recognize her?" storm asked "That's Raven."

"Raven?!" Deadpool exclaimed. Raven blushed even more and nodded, descending the rest of the steps until she reached where the trio was standing.

From this vantage point, Raven could see Deadpool's mouth was pretty much hanging out of it's socket through his mask. She wondered if he was blushing like she was. Maybe more? If she looked down she could probably see if he had a-

"Raven! You have tits! Really nice, firm looking, bouncy tits!" Deadpool exclaimed suddenly. Everyone but Raven mentally smacked themselves. Raven blushed even deeper. She never had any aspect of her body complimented by a member of the male species before.

"And the rest of you! Man!" Deadpool groaned before whistling. Once again, if Raven could make any noise, she would've giggled right about now, but instead she pulled out a blank sketchbook and a black marker from seemingly out of nowhere and wrote down a message.

"You still want tacos?" Deadpool read before looking up at Raven with a smile.

"Awesome! You're talking...sort of." he cheered "But it depends on what kind of taco we're talking about." he gave her a wink that made her knees weak.

"She means regular tacos, Deadpool." Wolverine growled, knowing fully well that Raven didnt mind the ambiguity in her statement. Deadpool groaned, only slightly disappointed before turning his attention back to Raven.

"Fine. To regular tacos it is!" he exclaimed.

Raven set about making her tacos, pretending it was two months ago. Back when she wasn't dressed in tight fitting leather and heeled boots. Back when she didn't really care if Deadpool, or anyone, liked her cooking. It was so easy...so simple. She didn't care about building relationships of any kind back then. No, she didn't really care about much then. But now it was different. Now, everything seemed to rest on the simmering taco meat before her. So much pressure on something so insignificant.

"Mmmm...you think I've finally died and gone to heaven yet?" Deadpool mumbled to himself as he stared at Raven's shapely ass as it rocked side to side. He knew that she seemed somewhat nervous, but it wasn't like he was too concerned. All he could see that there was a smoking hot woman dressed in leather cooking him some of the most delicious tacos his taste buds ever came to know.

_**"We're not in heaven...if we were, she'd probably be naked."** _

_"Not probably. She would be! and cooking wouldn't be the only thing she'd be doing."_

Deadpool giggled to himself as he imagined the possibilities. Oh, the many, many, MANY possibilities. Man, this girl cleaned up nicely. Not to mention she was the first genuinely interesting woman to show any interest in him since Domino. And Lord knows that on again off again fling was getting old for the hyperactive Merc.

"So, do you always cook your pancakes in kinky S&M gear nowadays?" he asked. Between drooling over the delicious scent of tacos and the equally delicious looking ass of Raven, he was having issues coming up with anything strikingly witty. Ha! Imagine: him, Deadpool, Merc with a Mouth, having trouble coming up with something smart to say every five seconds. He saw Raven's body shake in what looked like to be a giggle, even though no sound came out. She reached for her notepad and scribbled her answer down.

"Yes." Not very elaborate and therefore not very easy to manipulate into something sexual. Deadpool frowned and pretended to pout.

"Aw, and here I thought I was getting the special treatment." he pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. Raven smirked and scribbled down another sentence. When she handed the Merc the pad, he refused to take it; instead childishly choosing to turn away from her. She shoved the notepad into his crossed arms, roughly. There was no time for these games now. Not when taco meat required her constant attention in order for it to be perfect.

"You are." it read "I don't make tacos for anyone else, but you and me."

Deadpool giggled and laid the notepad back on the table. This girl totally wanted him and, for once, it wasn't some delusion. It was the real deal, or at least he thought so. Now, it was time to make a move.

"Hm, well in that case how about I give you a bit of special treatment." he suggested with a wink. Raven's face immediately heated up. It really needed to stop doing that. The bashfulness lost it's novelty way back in chapter one and now it just made her seem spineless.

"What do you mean?" she wrote down on her pad. She wanted to make absolutely sure she wasn't getting the wrong idea.

"Well, maybe you and I go out for a little dinner, maybe a movie, and then back to my place for a little dessert." he caught her embarrassed and slightly intrigued expression "Or we can just skip all the bullshit and just have dessert at my place all day long."

Damn! What a difference a little makeup and a new outfit could make on a relationship!? However, as much as Raven wanted to accept his offer for some 'dessert' at his apartment, that's not what Rogue taught her. In order to snag a man, Rogue taught her, it was crucial to hold back all the 'goodies' until he proved he was worthy to have them. Deadpool was no exception, regardless of how badly Raven wanted it to be.

"Dinner sounds great." Raven scribbled onto her notepad "But..." her marker hovered over the page. How could she phrase her crippling embarrassment that came with being around people who expected her to talk without sounding like a complete and total wuss? I mean, first she would have to talk to the waiter at whatever restaurant they would eat at, then they would have to talk to the guy at the concession stand at the movies, then it would be apologizing to the elderly people in the third row about Deadpool shooting the silver screen because the 3d effects were too real for him to handle. The list went on and on.

"Don't worry, I can do enough talking for the both of us." Deadpool encouraged her. Raven rolled her eyes and began to ladle the taco meat into the prepared shells. The lack of conversation wasn't what she was worried about, obviously. However, Raven immediately classified this moment as a 'leap of faith moment'. In order for her to even try to see what being with Deadpool would be like, she would have to go out in public with him at least once, right? Raven nodded her answer and handed the mercenary his tacos.

"Yum! That's great! I'll pick you up this Saturday at 7, ok?" he said. She nodded. So far, phase one of operation: snag a madman was going off without a hitch. Now all she had to do was debrief Rogue and prepare for phase two.

Nostalgia washed over Raven like a cool ocean wave. All these different phases and debriefings and whatnot reminded her so much of her days as a mercenary. Oh how she missed them. Getting paid ridiculous sums by scumbags to kill other scumbags; what could be better than that?

Maybe a nice quiet life in the suburbs with a little house and a white picket fence and a couple of kids running around. Maybe even a husband to have and to hold until death do they part. Maybe the husband could have a mouth that would just not stop working and an insatiable desire for tacos.

Raven shook her head. She hadn't thought about that quiet suburban life since her days in high school. She had pushed those dreams aside the second she saw her father's dead body spread out on the pavement with a huge shotgun wound to the chest. Shit, more bad thoughts. Time to chase them away with tacos!

"So, how'd it go?" Rogue asked as Raven entered her room. Rogue was the only one who was allowed into Raven's room without Raven being present. How's that for opening up?! Raven tried to keep her face as stoic as humanly possible, intending on keeping what she had written on her notepad a surprise.

"Aw, c'mon! Don't play hard to get! You're dealing with me now! Not some boy! Now spill it!" Rogue demanded. Raven allowed a smile to break her features as she held out her sketchbook turned notepad out for Rogue to see.

"Wow! Really?! Already! Damn, girl! You gotta give me your secret!" Rogue joked. Raven smiled and sat on the bed next to her new friend.

"So now what?" she wrote, holding up the paper with a lost puppy expression on her face.

"Well, now comes the fun part!" Rogue explained "First, we're gonna get you dressed up in something a little fancier and get you some lighter makeup. Then, I'll try to run through some typical first date stuff with you so you'll know what to expect. Although...considering it's Deadpool we're talking about here, I doubt anything will be typical."

Raven smiled happily. That was one of the things she loved about Deadpool: nothing was ever boring or average with him. Take today for example: a simple taco lunch turned into an invitation for a date. True, it was kinda mild for Deadpool, but at least he didn't blow up anything afterward...that we know of.

"So are you excited?" Rogue questioned.

Raven nodded, excitedly. If she could, she would be screaming and jumping around her room like an idiot. Rogue smiled proudly.

"Great! Ive gotta go grade some papers." she said, standing up "But you get some rest, ok?"

Raven nodded and waved to Rogue as she walked out the door. She hoped that it wouldn't take her friend too long to grade those pesky papers. After all, tomorrow was movie night for them.

She unzipped her jumpsuit, quickly at first until she suddenly stopped as a thought crossed her mind. There was a tree almost right next to her window: a perfect vantage point for any peeping toms. Judging by how badly Deadpool was drooling over her new outfit today, Raven wouldn't be surprised if he was out there right now.

A mischievous smirk crossed the girl's dark lips.

She wouldn't turn around for any confirmation; that would just ruin the fun.

No, she would continue to face the door, unzipping her suit as slowly as humanly possible while moving her hips to an invisible beat. As she peeled out of the suit while she danced, she kept hoping Deadpool was in the tree watching her. She bet that he would completely lose his mind seeing her on full display like that. Tack on the fact that he wouldn't know that she knew he was there and you would have one horny merc.

Raven let the black leather drop to the floor, leaving her in nothing but a black lace bra with matching panties. Scratch that, make that two horny mercs.

She resumed getting dressed into her pjs as usual. Tonight, she finally decided to wear the Wolverine t-shirt that Rogue bought for her as a gag to bed along with her red plaid boxers.

As she crawled into bed, she had her eyes fixed on the tree outside searching for the Merc with a Mouth. She wondered if he had been there, if he had seen her little performance. The little show just for him. Raven smiled mischievously and rolled over onto her other side, pulling her sheets up to her nose. That was probably the most exotic and daring she had ever been, as far as her body was concerned. It felt good. Not quite as good as taking another human's life, but still almost equally empowering. She let these thoughts stay in her head as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_I Get Off by Halestorm_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or the X-Men. I own Raven and whatever characters I introduce later (trust me...you'll know.) _

_Thanks for reading, btw. Feel free to favorite, review, and whatever other cliché thing you're supposed to do as the reader. _

* * *

Once again, Raven woke up to the bustling footsteps and voices of mutant children getting ready for classes. It was just a typical day...or so it seemed.

Raven dug her iPod out from underneath her pillow and plugged the two earbuds into her ears. She squinted her eyes against the combined harshness of the sunlight and the light of her music device as she scrolled through her possible choices. Once she found it, she selected it and began to prepare for the day.

Today marked the twentieth anniversary of her mother's death. Each year, Raven would drive all the way to her home state of Delaware just to visit her mother's grave. It was an annual ritual that she used to complete with her father and sister before they died and left, respectively. She still completed it on her own because...well just because she loved her mother. Nothing more than that.

Raven closed her eyes as she ran a brush through her black hair. It was her mother's hair. Her sister had been the one to inherit their Father's caramel colored tresses. Nobody knew where either of their mutations came from though.

When Raven opened her eyes and looked into the mirror, she saw her mother looking back. Eyes as black as night, skin as white as the keys on a piano, and pin straight midnight tresses; it was all her mother's. But Raven was nothing like her mother.

Her mother had been a loving housewife, who threw a fit even if a fly was killed. Raven was a mercenary, who took great pleasure in ending lives. Her mother had a voice of a world class singer. Raven had no voice at all.

Raven turned away from the mirror in frustration. If her mother was alive, she probably would've been extremely disappointed in what her eldest daughter's life had become. Although, it probably wasn't as bad as her youngest. At least Raven chose the good side. At least Raven was willing to steal Wolverine's Harley just to visit her mother.

She packed a small backpack full of some clothes and basic toiletries. She also managed to stuff her checkered wallet in there too.

As she turned to leave, her eyes caught sight of the still unpacked bag of artillery. As much as she wanted to take the whole thing, there really wasn't a need. Besides, it would be really awkward if she got pulled over with enough weapons on her to eliminate a small town.

Raven walked over to the bag and stooped down. She fished out a small semi-automatic pistol and a few extra rounds. She had never had any trouble when she visited her mother before. The town that was her home in life was almost identical to Mayberry (if you don't know what that is, Google it). The worst thing in it was the black haired girl riding on a stolen motorcycle...oh wait...that was her.

With the pistol tucked into her boot, Raven exited her room, making sure to lock it before she left.

As she walked down the hall towards the garage, the song she had chosen this morning repeated for the umpteenth time. As the song stated, she was crazy. She was crazy for stealing Wolverine's motorcycle and traveling several states south without telling anyone. She was crazy for listening to a single song over and over again, but it was her mother's favorite song.

The lights turned on automatically as she entered. Wolverine's bike was all the way in the back, closest to the garage door. Perfect.

Raven ran over to the bike and knelt down next to it. It had been a very long time since she had to hot-wire anything, especially a classic bike like this one. She looked around the room.

There was nobody in there and the longer she knelt here, the more likely she would get caught. She shrugged and began to work on getting the bike started.

Within 15 minutes, the bike's engine rumbled to life. Raven's dark head popped up and she looked around to see if the sudden noise alarmed anyone. So far...no, but she wasn't going to wait around to find out.

Raven ran over to one of the other bikes and grabbed a helmet that covered her entire face and shoved it on her head, tucking in her long black locks underneath. She flipped the dark cover down and hopped onto the bike. Luckily for her, the garage doors were already open.

With one final look back at the mansion, Raven pulled back the accelerator as hard as she could and kicked the kickstand up. It wasn't the most subtle exit, but it worked.

The bike rumbled into Fenwick Island, DE a little longer than 3 hours later. Raven pulled into the parking lot at the Sands motel, where she had a room on permanent reserve just for this annual ritual. She parked to bike with great care and hopped off it.

It was the off season in this small town, so there weren't a lot of pesky and nosy tourists to inquire about the jumpsuit wearing woman as she jogged up the first flight of stairs and into her room without signing in.

Raven took off her helmet and tossed it to the side along with her backpack. She inhaled the scent of musty ocean water. It was common for houses and such to carry this smell, especially when they weren't ventilated. The fact that the smell was so strong in this room meant that the hotel caretakers had heeded her warning never to enter this place.

She still had a couple of hours before she had to go and visit the grave, so Raven decided to flop down onto her queen sized bed and check the messages on her phone. She had suspected that they probably noticed her disappearance. They probably noticed the disappearance of the bike as well. Hard to say which one was first, but once they put two and two together they'd figure out that they were connected.

After turning her phone on, she saw her suspicions were confirmed. Almost everyone she knew from the X-Men had texted her almost a million times each. Wolverine even called her a bunch of times and that made her smile. He must've been really desperate for his bike if he was going to call a mute girl 5 times for it.

However, there was a missed call from an unfamiliar number and a voicemail that caught her eye. Raven removed one of her earbuds and called her voicemail.

"Hey, short and sexy. It's Deadpool." the message said "I've been getting a thousand calls from the X-Pals wondering where you are." there was a pause

"Look, if you're having second thoughts about going out on Saturday, you could've just said so. You didn't have to skip town. Anyways, I know you can't call back, but just text somebody...you've got a lot of people who are worried about you over here. Myself included."

And with that, the message ended. Raven couldn't believe it. People were actually worried about her? And Deadpool was actually worried about her? That was odd.

Raven bit her lip. She didn't want him to think she didn't want to go out with him, but sending a text message was risky. She closed her eyes and sighed, putting the earbud back in her ear.

She added Deadpool's number to her contacts before opening up a new message.

"Deadpool," she typed "Tell everyone not to worry. I'm coming back because there's no way I'm letting you wiggle out of taking me out. Do NOT try to find me. I will be back tomorrow."

She hit send and immediately turned her phone back off. Hopefully the message would get to him before anyone could put a trace on it.

Raven felt her eyes grow heavy. Traveling for 3 hours straight really did take a lot out of a person; healing factor or not. She supposed that she had enough time for a nap. She let her eyes droop until the finally shut.

A few hours later, Raven woke back up to the sound of Patsy Cline's sultry voice crooning in her ear. It was getting dark now. The clock on the nightstand read 7:30. Just in time to get back on the road and get to the grave at the exact moment as her mother's passing.

She rolled out of bed , iPod and room keys in hand, and made her way to the door. When she opened it, she found that her mother's favorite flowers, daisies, had been delivered just like they always were every year. She smirked and stooped down. She inhaled the sweet scent as she rose.

A heavy mist had covered the graveyard by the time Raven arrived. Combine that with the full moon in the clear night sky and you had a perfect scene for a horror movie.

Raven parked her borrowed bike and walked past the numerous graves until she reached her family's plot.

"Franklin George Pierce" one head stone read "Loving father and faithful husband"

"Anna Marie Pierce" the one to the right read "Loving mother and loyal wife"

Raven smiled and knelt down, placing the daisies on her mother's side.

"Happy birthday, mom. I miss you." she would say. A soft breeze blew the black ribbon that tied the bouquet together. Raven could feel some tears stinging the edges of her eyes. She wiped them off on the back of her hand.

Then there was a noise; a snap of a fallen twig somewhere in the distance. There were no other vehicles parked in the area and nobody else was visiting any graves. Raven felt her old mercenary tendencies returning as she carefully removed her pistol from her boot.

She stood slowly and deliberately, as to not arouse suspicion from any potential attackers.

She saw a shadow run across her field of vision. She raised her pistol and fired two rounds after it.

A gust of wind alerted her from behind as she turned and shot at another dark figure. Her eyes were wild and her heart was about to jump out of its cavity. Nobody knew she was out here. Absolutely nobody. So who was this and what did they want?

A sickening laugh filled the air and Raven unleashed the last of her shots towards it. With remarkable speed, she reloaded just in time to shoot a male assailant who was coming at her from the left with a knife.

To her right, another assailant; this one armed with a rusty pipe. He was also taken down by her bullet.

Just how many were there anyways?

From out of nowhere, a woman attacked her, quickly knocking Raven's pistol out of her hands before the dark haired ex-Merc could do anything. During the struggle, her headphones popped out of her ears and swung uselessly around her waist.

Before Raven could even counter with a punch, she felt an electric shock in the crook of her neck causing her to drop to her knees in pain. She may have had a healing factor, but every wound she received she could feel.

As she was about to get up and begin to fight back, another taser was brought down to her other side. Followed by a third and a fourth, until Raven was silently panting on all fours in front of her parents' grave.

"See? Toldja she would be here." a familiar voice said with a satisfied chuckle "Like clockwork."

"Never thought the Scary Mercenary would show up with so little ammo." a male voice replied. Raven's eyes grew wide. The female voice sounded so familiar. It couldn't be her...it just couldn't.

The first figure, the woman, walked over and deliberately stepped on the daisies, crushing them into the dirt before squatting down next to Raven's face.

From here, Raven could see it all. The hazel eyes, the caramel colored hair, and the slightly tanned skin. There was no mistaking it now.

"Hello, Gwendolyn."

Raven gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as Dana, her long lost sister stared down at her condescendingly. She smirked knowingly and motioned for one of her goons to come over.

"Knock her out. It's time to take her to the homecoming party." she instructed as she stood up and walked off into the distance. Raven's eyes grew wide before the large man pressed a pressure point in her neck that caused her to fall over unconscious.

Much later, Raven couldn't tell how long, she awoke tied up to a chair in a dark and extremely run down room. Moonlight dripped in through the cracks in the walls and the ceiling. The smell of musty ocean clung to the area like dog hair on clothes. Patsy Cline played from an old record player in the background.

As Raven's eyes adjusted, she could see more of the finer details. The tan shag carpet, the dark brown wooden walls, even some old family pictures. From what Raven could tell, she was in her family's old living room.

She caught sight of her reflection in the broken TV. Other than looking completely filthy, she was fine. No cuts or bruises, unless they all healed up by now. Just how long was she out anyways?

"Welcome home, Gwen." her sister's voice said. Raven whipped her head to the kitchen where her sister stood with two large men on either side of her. She certainly had changed since they last saw each other. Sporty caramel ponytails had been replaced with a practical bob. Blue jeans covered her long legs and a dirty green flannel shirt covered her small chest. Raven even noticed a few scars on her sister's face and she would've been concerned about where they came from if Dana hadn't just kicked her ass and kidnapped her.

Speaking of which, Dana's hazel eyes narrowed to slits and she crossed the space between them in two long strides. She pulled her hand back and slapped Raven across the face.

"I said 'Welcome home'." she hissed into her sister's ear. Raven could see her sister's eyes soften as she straightened herself up.

"Oh, that's right." Dana continued, her voice much more cheery "I forgot you couldn't speak."

Raven was shocked. How did her sister know about her being a mute? All of those experiments...everything that made her into what she was now occurred after Dana had left for the Brotherhood. How? How did she know?

"What? You thought that just because I left that meant I wouldn't keep tabs on the family?" Dana taunted, pacing around her elder sister. Raven could see a very large army knife glinting from her sister's belt. This was going to hurt.

"I know everything about you." she continued on "I know about how you were trained by Cable and used the skills he taught you to become a mercenary. I also know that you absorbed lung cancer from one of those dickheads who killed our father. You went into the Weapon X program, like an idiot, and let them experiment on you!"

Dana chuckled.

"I suppose it isn't all bad for you though, you did get that nifty healing factor that everyone can't seem to shut up about now." Raven could hear her younger sister pull the knife out of its holster. Yup, it was gonna hurt a whole lot.

"I also heard they made it so you can't make a sound." Dana said "I wonder how they did it. Did they cut out your vocal chords? Did they tie them up?"

Raven gritted her teeth and pulled against her rope restraints. She had no idea what they did to her to make her mute. She wished she did so that way she could at least know if her silence could ever be broken. Also, Dana was speaking from a third party perspective. She wasn't there. She had no idea what it was like without anybody to help her.

Dana snorted before driving her knife deep into the right side of her sister. Raven's mouth opened in pain, but no scream came out. Not a single word. Dana smirked and twisted the knife deeper, causing Raven to pull against her restraints even harder. More silent screams were shaped by her dark lips, but other than the creaking of the chair there was no sound.

Once the pain subsided, Raven glared at her younger sister. The Dana she knew always held some animosity towards her, but she could never imagine her ever wanting to inflict pain on her own family.

"I bet you're wondering what I want?" Dana said, straightening herself and wiping her sister's blood off on her pants. Raven remained silent. It's not like she had any other choice.

"Well, aren't you?!" Dana yelled. Raven looked back down at the knife in her side, then back up at her sister and nodded.

"What I want, Gwendolyn, is to go back to that accursed island you escaped from. When we're there, I'm going to take that healing factor from you and I'm going to distribute it to all mutants who follow the cause of the Brotherhood..."

Raven rolled her eyes. Who knew her sister would take on the role of the monologuing bad guy? She half expected Captain America or some other superhero to bust in through the door and save her. However, she knew that one would never happen.

"And you're going to show us where that island is." Dana finished. Raven smirked and looked up at the ceiling. Her sister really was off her rocker if she thought that this whole scheme of hers was going to work. Not everyone was compatible with the healing factor, just ask all the other experiments who didn't make it...oh wait...you can't. She supposed that didn't matter to her sister anyways.

Dana wasn't pleased by her sister's lack of attention. Flames formed in each of her fists and she grabbed both wrists of her elder sister. Raven's face immediately dropped to miss her sister. Their eyes met as Dana clenched her fists tighter around Raven's wrists. The room was soon filled with the smell of burning flesh.

"You think you're so tough because of that stupid healing factor, don't you?!" she yelled in her sister's pained face "Well let me tell you something, nothing can come back once they're completely incinerated, you got me?"

Raven would've rolled her eyes if the pain didn't hurt so badly. Even if she was burnt to a crisp, all of the ashes would eventually come back together and she'd be fine. It was trippy to imagine, but true.

Dana released her sister's wrists and stood up. Raven looked down and noticed that the skin was burned off to the bone. Shit, she really was serious wasn't she?

"Don't let her out of your sights." Dana commanded to the two large men before stalking out of the room. Raven looked hopelessly at them. Sure, if she could speak she'd try to lighten the mood with some smartass comment or some dick joke, but that didn't look like an option right now.

As her vision began to fail her once again, she hoped Deadpool wouldn't listen to her request like he usually didn't. She hoped he would come save her.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Crazy by Patsy Cline_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or any of the songs chosen to be included in this (or any previous) chapter. I do own Raven, Dana, and all of Dana's goonies. _

_Rate, review, and shit! Now let's get this party started!_

* * *

Deadpool lounged in his filthy, ratty old armchair twirling one of his knives in his fingers. Rogue sat on the windowsill of his apartment, looking out of the greying sky thoughtfully. She had arrived earlier after Deadpool kept telling Wolverine to fuck off because nobody ever called just to say hi anymore. Once there, she explained the real situation to him in person and he immediately began to help.

"So are you sure she's never done anything like this before?" Deadpool asked. Rogue rolled her eyes. It must've been the hundredth time he had asked that question; as if he would get a different answer if he kept asking.

"You're talking about a girl who would barely even leave her room for six months." she replied "There's no way she would just steal a bike and leave."

"Alright, alright, Jeeze. Just trying to make some conversation." Deadpool apologized. Rogue's eyes flashed harshly over to him.

"Well, would you at least try to make it about something else!" she hissed. He rolled his eyes. Rogue was pretty much the sweetest girl ever, but make her this worried and she'll turn into the biggest bitch on the planet.

"So, you think that trace we got on her phone will work?" he asked. Rogue's eyes softened and she looked back out the window.

"I don't know. It was a pretty narrow window. I guess we'll just have to wait and see." she replied. Deadpool nodded and looked back down at the blade flashing in-between his fingers. This is what he hated most: waiting.

_"You really think she still wants to go out with us?"_

_**"Of course she does! She said so herself!**_

_"Yeah, but women are really weird!"_

_**"Yes, but so are we! Now calm down, for all we know this could all be nothing."**_

Despite what his voices were saying, Deadpool knew something wasn't right. What Rogue said was true: a woman who wouldn't even leave her room for six months wouldn't just leave without telling anyone. It just wasn't the normal mo. So what was it?

Rogue's phone went off and she immediately answered it before the first ring could finish.

"Hello?" she asked. Deadpool's eyes glanced up at the Southern beauty as she rose off of her seat at the windowsill. He could see that it was starting to rain behind her. That meant his apartment would basically be flooded.

**_"This day just keeps getting better and better."_**

_"I know, right?"_

"Would you two shut up! Rogue might got something here!" Deadpool murmured to the voices in his head. Rogue ended the call and slid the phone into her pocket.

"Well?" the mercenary asked.

"They traced her phone back to a small town called Fenwick Island, Delaware." she informed him "At a little motel called the Sands. If we leave now we should make it there by tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow morning? But that's too long! She could be in-" he started to say.

"I know it seems like a long time, but look at how late it is already." she told him. Deadpool glanced at the clock on his microwave. Damn, was it really midnight?

He nodded and spun his knife around one time before driving it deep into the arm of his chair.

"Alright, then what the hell are we waiting around here for? Let's get going." he said, his tone eerily serious.

True to her word, they arrived at the tiny motel in just under an hour. It took a bit longer than usual because Deadpool and Wolverine got into a fight over who would be driving the Blackbird. However, it was quickly resolved when Rogue told each of them to put away their rulers and just fly the damn thing before she sucked the life out of both of them.

"So which one is hers?" Deadpool asked as they stepped out of their aircraft. Rogue shrugged as she followed him out.

"I suppose technology can only do so much. C'mon, let's go ask the receptionist." she suggested. The three of them ran into the empty check in office. Behind the counter, a little old man stood polishing the desk with care. When he saw the three enter, he gave them an odd look. Not many superheroes visited this small town.

"Can I help you, young folks?" he asked., setting his rag down.

"Yeah, um, we're looking for a girl with long black hair. She came here on a Harley and was wearing a-" Rogue began.

"A skin tight black jumpsuit?" the old man finished, nodding knowingly "Yeah, I know her. She, her father, and her sister used to visit here every year. Now it's just her."

"How come?" Rogue asked.

"To visit her mother, of course." the man explained, sadly. By his tone, the group could tell that her mother probably wasn't in the best of health.

"And where is her mother?" Rogue questioned.

"She's buried at the family plot over at Wilgus Cemetery." he answered "But she should be back by now."

"No. There was no sign of the bike out front." Wolverine replied.

"Well, it could be parked around the back." Rogue told her companion before turning her attention back to the old man.

"Could you please tell us where her room is?" she asked, desperately "We're friends of hers and we're really worried about her."

The man sighed and nodded.

"Can't say I blame you. Her room is 216. Up the first flight of stairs and to your right." he responded. Rogue smiled.

"Thanks." she said as she led the group back outside.

"Alright, Logan, you check around the back for the bike. Deadpool, I need you to come with me to her room." she instructed. Wolverine nodded and jogged his way around the back.

"Ohhhh a little bit of alone time with Rogue, how great is that?!" Deadpool exclaimed as he followed Rogue up the flight of stairs.

"Now's not the time, Deadpool! Ugh! I knew we should've left you at home!" she cursed.

"Hey! I'm just trying to lighten up the mood here! I'm just as worried about Short and sexy as everyone else!" he defended himself. Rogue rolled her eyes as they stopped in front of room 216.

"Raven? Raven! Open up in there! It's me Rogue!" she yelled as she pounded her fists on the door.

"And me, Deadpool!" Deadpool added, rapping his knuckles on the glass window. He pressed his face up to the glass to try and see what was going on, but it was no use; she had her curtains drawn shut.

"This is bullshit." he cursed, gently nudging Rogue out of the way.

"Stand back." he warned before kicking down the door. Without questioning, the two filed into the room and looked around the tiny space.

"I found her phone!" Rogue announced, producing the grey iPhone from within the sheets of the bed, "How about you?"

"Nothing. Her stuff hasn't even been unpacked yet." Deadpool replied, holding up Raven's discarded backpack.

"Ugh! Where are you?" Rogue groaned.

"Hey, guys, find anything?" Wolverine asked, slightly out of breath from running up the stairs.

"A whole lot of nothing. How about you?" Deadpool asked. Wolverine shook his head.

"Bike's not there, so I got squat." he replied.

"So we should go to the cemetery?" Rogue reasoned.

"Worth a shot." Wolverine answered.

Minutes later, the Blackbird landed in a large plot of land outside of the cemetery. That was the great thing about small towns like this: plenty of open space for aerial craft landings, which I am certain is the real purpose for it.

"Well there's the bike." Wolverine stated, pointing at his motorcycle "But where's Raven?"

The group collectively scanned the area. It was way to foggy to see much and it wasn't like the rain was helping either.

"Maybe she's at her mom's grave." Rogue suggested.

"Alright, we'll have to split up if we want to find anything." Wolverine ordered.

"Aw, I hate how these situations always end up. At least one of us is gonna die and I'm pretty sure it'll be the only one here without a healing factor." Deadpool stated, pointing at Rogue.

"Still not Helping." she replied. He rolled his eyes. True to his word, he really was just as worried as everyone else. He just was dealing with it in his own way: by running his mouth. Didn't they get this by now?

The group ran off in different sections, each of them taking a row of plots. As they searched, the rain grew heavier and heavier until it fell like bullets from the sky.

"Guys! I found somethin! Come quick!" Rogue shouted as loud as she could over the storm. Wolverine and Deadpool sprinted over to the noise.

Rogue stood in front of two graves labeled 'Franklin George Pierce' and 'Anna Marie Pierce'. Blood soaked daisy petals scattered the ground, joining the two dead bodies in the earth.

"Well...at least they're in the right place." Deadpool said, pointing at the bodies. Rogue sighed and rolled her eyes, giving up hope in trying to make him see how serious the situation was.

"You think Raven did this?" Wolverine asked. Deadpool knelt in the muddy ground and picked up one of the discarded shells.

"I dunno. Does she carry a 9 mm pistol?" he asked, twirling the casing in his fingers. Rogue furrowed her brow. She knew that wasn't a completely uncommon kind of gun to have, but she also knew that Raven had bought one when they had gone shopping together.

"She did buy one when we went to the armory that one time. It could be hers." she answered. Deadpool nodded and tucked the casing into his pocket.

"Then, I think I found something too." he said "Hurry up and follow me before the rain washes it away."

Raven hung her head, using her hair to try and shield her eyes from the rain that seemed to be pouring completely on her. The room really smelled now. At least her burns finally healed. Raven could still see the hilt of her sister's knife sticking out of her side. She had healed around it, which meant pulling it out was going to be basically just as painful as it getting stuck in.

She glanced over at her guards. They were both mutants of super strength and not much else, from what she could gather. If only one of them would touch her, then she could take their strength, break out of her bonds, and slaughter them all.

"So, when do you think Dana's gonna be back?" one of the men asked "This rain is just awful."

"She'll be back tomorrow, remember?" the other replied, smacking his partner on the back of the head "We can't get to an island with a storm this bad. We're gonna have to wait until the storm passes."

"Ugh! Then how did we get stuck with babysitting?" the first whined.

"Cuz we're the grunts." the second said. Raven rolled her eyes. Not only were they the grunts, but they were probably useless at doing anything else. The only thing either of these guys had going for them was their strength.

She could see them look at her and she immediately averted her eyes. Maybe if they thought she was asleep or still unconscious, they would leave her alone.

"Well...there's no reason we can't have a bit of fun with her first." the first suggested. The second laughed heartily.

"True. But how will we explain it to Dana?"

"We'll just tell her that she was asking for it! I mean, look at how's she's dressed! It's like she's asking for it! I mean, if we don't do it then someone else will!" the first said.

Raven cringed as she heard their footsteps grow closer and closer to her. So this is how it was gonna be, huh? She always pictured her first time with a bit less giant dudes, bondage, and stabbing than this. How disappointing, but at least they would be touching her and then...then she could gain their strength and rip both of their dicks off and shove them in their mouths before decapitating them with her bare hands.

Chills of pleasure ran down Raven's spine. It had been so long since she had taken another life. It would make up for so much lost time if she could just slaughter these men with her bare hands. Just to feel their warm blood cover her freezing body would be enough. So if a little bit of discomfort was all it would take, then so be it.

Just as they were about to yank Raven's head back, a loud crash followed by the collapse of the kitchen wall caused the two large men to stop their actions. They walked towards the settling dust. Raven's eyes followed them intently, curious as to what made the wall fall.

One of the men began to shriek and soon fell with a loud thunk onto the wet floor, a katana blade wedged firmly into his chest.

Raven couldn't help but smile when she saw who pulled the katana out.

"Hey, Raven! I didn't know you were into three ways!" Deadpool called out cheerfully, wiping the blood off of his sword. Rogue and Wolverine stood on either side of him. Raven had never been so happy to see three people in her entire life.

"You...you...you killed Earthquake!" the second guy exclaimed, shocked.

"Huh?" Deadpool nudged the fallen giant with the tip of his boot "Well...what do you know...I guess I did."

"I'll kill you!" the second guy shouted, lunging at Deadpool, who jumped nimbly out of the way.

"Hey! That's what I'm supposed to say!" Deadpool shouted back, before turning to Wolverine and Rogue.

"You two get Raven back to the Blackbird before she catches a cold. I still need her ready for our date on Saturday." he instructed with a wink towards Raven. Even in this cold, she blushed.

"Alright, just call us if you need anything." Rogue said, running over to her friend with Wolverine not too far behind.

"Maybe some hot coco, but c'mon! Nothing bad is gonna happen! It's Deadpool vs unnamed henchman #2! Who do ya think is gonna win?" he replied sarcastically.

"My name is Thunderclap!" the second guy shouted. Deadpool rolled his eyes.

"As if making a name up for yourself last minute is somehow gonna increase your chances." he told the guy, pointing his katana at him "Seriously?"

Wolverine cut through Raven's bonds with his claws and she instantly threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly to show her gratitude. He went to hug her back when he felt the knife.

"Jesus! They stabbed you? What the hell else did they do to you?" he asked. Raven shook her head, trying to tell him that she was fine and that the stab looked a lot worse than it appeared.

"Whatever! C'mon, let's get back to the Blackbird and get that thing out of there!" Rogue yelled. Wolverine scooped up Raven bridal style and followed Rogue out of the dilapidated house.

Raven looked over Wolverine's shoulder and at her old childhood home, now the home to one of the biggest bloodbaths this tiny town had ever seen. Inside that house, Deadpool was fighting and he was fighting for her. She never had anyone fight for her or risk their lives for her. Now here was someone she only knew for two months doing both.

She smiled and settled back into Wolverine's arms. Deadpool seemed to bring nothing, but good into her life. His appeal just seemed to keep growing with her the longer they interacted. She just hoped he would make it out unharmed against unnamed henchman #2.

Back in the Blackbird, Raven sat up in her hospital bed with a bloody bandage around her waist. Rogue had insisted on stitches, even though Raven tried to say she would be fine with just a new change of clothes. Trying to explain that she had the healing factor really was difficult to do without her pad and paper.

However, as the clock ticked on, she began to grow more and more worried about Deadpool. His fight against noname henchman should be taking so long. Just what the hell was he doing anyways?

As if on cue, the door to the Blackbird opened.

"Luuuuuuuucy! I'm hooooome!" a familiar loudmouth's voice shouted.

"Dammit, Deadpool! Where the hell were you?!" Rogue shouted, stealing the words right out of Raven's mouth.

"Relax!" he said, shutting the door and sealing it behind him "I got a bit of information about what those goons wanted with Raven and then I stopped by the motel to get Raven her stuff. Jeeze, you think you would be a bit more grateful after I-"

Raven ran into his body with as much force as hers would allow and wrapped him up into the tightest hug she could.

"Ow! Jeeze, Raven!" Deadpool gasped, patting Raven on the back "My ribs! My spine! Agh!"

Raven immediately pulled away, keeping her hands on his biceps as she inspected him up and down. His uniform had been torn in certain places, but there were no open wounds.

"Raven, I'm fine." he said "I've got a healing factor so I can't die. There's nothing to worry about."

Raven smiled wider. Yet another thing she had in common with the crazy mercenary.

She pulled him back into a hug, this one not quite as bone breaking, and pulled his head down into the crook of her neck, holding it there with one of her hands.

He could feel her mouth 'thank you' and 'I'm sorry' over and over again. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He half expected that Patsy Clein song he had heard being played over and over when he was fighting unnamed guy to start playing.

But it didn't. They just stood there, in front of Wolverine and Rogue, wrapped up in each other's arms. And, for once, Deadpool couldn't find anything to say. For once, he was content with keeping his mouth shut.

* * *

_Song(s) Used (in order):_

_Crazy by Patsy Clien _

_A Thousand Years by Christina Perri_


	6. Chapter 6

_Usual Disclaimer: Don't own Deadpool...yaddah yaddah yaddah...Don't own X-Men...blah blah blah...I do own Raven & any original characters unless otherwise specified...blah blah..._

_Also, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but that's because I have company coming over today and I just wanted to get this down and out before I forgot about it and ended up posting reaaaaally super late or some shit. _

_Thanks to all of you who have read and favorite so far! It really is cool of you to do that! _

* * *

The ride back to New York wasn't really the most peaceful one. First, Raven had to listen to Wolverine scold her about stealing, especially anything of his, and how she should "just get one of your own if you want one so bad". Then, she had to listen to Rogue chastise her about the dangers of going on trips and not telling anyone. Raven sat quietly and listened. She was quite surprised that even though both of her parents were dead, there were still others to replace them.

"So what did you find out about why those freaks wanted Raven?" Rogue asked. Deadpool, who was sitting next to Raven, yawned and stretched his arms high up into the air.

"Well, turns out Raven has a younger sister who's a psycho bitch who wants to use Raven in order to sort of bring back the whole Weapon X program, except on a larger scale." he said, with a shrug.

"What the hell would she want bring back the Weapon X program?!" Wolverine exclaimed. Deadpool shrugged once again.

"It's not like those two tanks were a fountain of information. What do you expect?" he defended himself.

_ "Yeah! They're more like fountains of blood now anyways!"_

"Do you know anything, Raven?" Rogue asked her dark haired friend. Raven nodded and dug into her bag for her sketchbook. She quickly produced it and immediately started writing what she knew down. It wasn't much more than what Deadpool just said, but it was something. Raven just wished she hadn't gotten distracted while her sister was doing her evil villain monologue, but they didn't need to know that.

When she was finished, she handed the book to Rogue. Wolverine switched the jet to autopilot and turned around to look. Deadpool stood up excitedly, mumbling something about story time, and squeezed himself right in between the two X-Men.

"Heyyyyyyy! Raven has the healing factor too? That's awesome!" Deadpool cheered.

"Raven, why didn't you tell us? Are there any other powers you have?" Rogue asked. Raven shook her head and took her sketchbook back. She took a few seconds to scribble down a reply before handing it back.

"Alright, so, just the controlled absorption mutation and the healing factor, right?" Wolverine verified after reading her response. Raven nodded, rather happily at first, until she felt like her lungs were collapsing in on themselves.

She erupted into a fit of coughing immediately and she covered her mouth with a closed fist.

"Whoa, Raven, you alright?" Deadpool asked. Raven tried to nod, but her coughing was too much for her. She removed her hand from her mouth for just one second when-

"Holy shit! Is that blood?!" Rogue exclaimed. Raven looked down at her now bloodstained fist. Damn, there sure was a lot of it this time. It even started to drip on the floor. Gross.

"But I thought you said you had the healing factor?" Wolverine shouted, preparing to turn the Blackbird around and strike into action against Dana "Did they take it from you already?"

Raven shook her head and took her sketchbook back. She tried to write down what the problem was this time, but her coughing fit proved to be too much. Red droplets fell out of her black lips and stained the blank white sheets. She threw the book away before the red liquid could ruin any more pages.

"We need to get her to the infirmary now!" Rogue shouted to Wolverine.

"I'm already radioing medics to meet us at the drop." he replied. Raven shook her head furiously as she continued to cough. She could imagine to an outsider that her coughing up blood after announcing her healing factor would be indicative that something went wrong, but there was no way she would go back into a hospital. Not after what those doctors did to her at Three Mile.

"Hey, sweetcheeks, listen up." Deadpool's voice broke through her panicked stated "We just wanna make sure nothing's wrong, ok? Just let the eggheads check you out and then we'll play video games or some shit. I'll be with you the whole time."

_ "Dawhhh. Who knew we could be so sweet!?"_

_**"WE did, you idiot."**_

Raven's panic subsided at his words. She took his gloved hand in her free one and squeezed it tightly. He could feel her whole body tremor and shake as she hacked up blood. Not the most attractive thing he'd seen a lady do, but hey- she was voluntarily holding his hand now.

"Ma'am, I have some bad news for you." the doctor told Raven as she sat on the examiner's table swinging her legs back and forth carelessly. Raven, Wolverine, and Deadpool all crowded into the room and looked at the doctor expectantly.

"You...have stage four lung cancer...probably the worst cases I've ever seen." the doctor stated dramatically.

"Oh, sugar!" Rogue cried.

"Dude, that's pretty heavy." Deadpool said "Maybe her healing factor is on the fritz or something."

_**"Or maybe she's just as crazy as us and she made it up?"**_

_"Good point."_

Raven calmly picked her sketchbook and wrote down "No shit, Sherlock." before showing it to her audience.

"How can you be so calm about this?!" Wolverine shouted. Raven raised an eyebrow. Did they not read what she wrote on the Blackbird? She has a healing factor. Nothing is ever going to kill her. Not getting stabbed in the sides, being raped by giants, or stage four lung cancer.

Raven wrote down her response. It was a bit more about her past than she would've liked to share, but it was better than having them think she was crazy and send her off to live in some loony bin.

"Oh...so you...got cancer when you were still a teenager and before you received your healing factor?" Rogue said quietly after reading. Raven nodded and wrote down "Basically" as her response. They didn't need to know all the finer details. Let them think what they wanted for now.

"Oh well, in that case...there's nothing really wrong with you then." the doctor stated, flipping through the CT scan photos "Except we did find something odd in your throat."

Raven tilted her head. She never recalled the cancer spreading to her throat.

"Here. Take a look." he said, clipping the photo up onto a light. The four other people crowded around it, pushing each other to get a better look.

"As you can see here," the doctor said, pointing to a small white square right on top of where Raven's vocal chords were "There is a small unidentifiable object located on the vocal chords."

"Well, do you know what it is?" Rogue asked. The doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't say for sure. But I do know that the placement of this object could have some effects on her ability to speak."

Raven blinked, shocked by what she was hearing and seeing. You mean to say that one tiny, white box stuck in her throat could make her completely mute? There was no way.

"So, can you remove it?" Wolverine asked. The doctor nodded.

"Oh yeah. Of course."

"Will she be able to talk again?" Rogue asked, once again stealing the words right out of Raven's mouth and probably everyone else's as well. The doctor furrowed his brow.

"If this box really is the problem, then if it were to be removed she should be able to speak again." he said. Raven almost fainted, she had to steady herself by holding onto the table.

Did this egghead really just say what she thought he said? That after what seemed like an eternity of being mute that she would be able to speak again?

"Yahoo!" Deadpool cheered, pumping his fists "That's great! Didja hear, Raven, you'll be able to talk if this dingus can get that box out of your throat!"

Raven blinked, completely dumbfounded. She had only expected to come in and hear the usual "I'm sorry you have lung cancer" bit. Nothing could've prepared her for this.

"Aw, don't tell me you're gonna let your fear of the doctors stop you from talking again!" Deadpool pouted "Look, I'll come with you to all of your appointments! And if I Can't go, then one of the X-Pals will!"

Raven looked over at Rogue and Wolverine, who had been volunteered against their will. They didn't seem apprehensive about it at all. In fact, they seemed really quite pleased.

She smiled as she picked up her pad and marker once more.

"Alright." she wrote "I'll do it."

"Ok, so are you sure you'll be ok tonight?" Rogue asked as the trio stopped in front of Raven's room. Wolverine was the only one who decided not to walk the black haired girl back to her room. He probably wanted to spend some quality time with his newly reunited bike.

Raven nodded, still not entirely sure why Deadpool decided to join them. His job was done...he should've left and not been back till Saturday to pick her up.

"Alright, well-" Rogue yawned "I'm gonna hit the hay. Glad to have you back safe and sound."

Raven smiled and nodded in response. Rogue really was turning into one of those mama bear types, wasn't she?

Deadpool and Raven watched the brown haired lady walk away, waiting until she turned the corner before either of them made any attempt to communicate with each other.

"So...is this the part where I carry you across the threshold and we make sweet, sweaty love all night?" the Merc with a Mouth asked. Raven raised an eyebrow. Totally not what she expected a dude who just found out her lungs more closely resembled lava rocks than human organs.

"What? Isn't that what they do in movies after the hero saves the damsel in distress?" he questioned, putting a hand to his chin in thought. Raven smirked. As tempting an offer as that was, she was going to make him wait until they went on at least just one date together.

"No?" he sighed "Fine, then, what kind of payment do I get in this fucked up story?"

Raven grinned and stood up on her tiptoes. She held onto his shoulders to steady herself and kissed him softly on the cheek. When she tried to pull away, he held her there. She looked into his eyes, trying to figure out what his aim was.

Slowly, she reached to lift up his mask, but was stopped by his hands before she could even move it an inch.

"Baby, I really don't think you wanna see what's under there." he said. She stuck out her bottom lip and held up her index and thumb in that sign that means 'just a little'.

She could see him roll his eyes under his mask.

"Alright, if that's what you really want. But you can't use what you find as an excuse to ditch me on Saturday." he relented "I'm still taking time out of my busy schedule to take you to your doctor's appointments, you scardey cat."

Raven smiled in satisfaction. There was no way she would ditch him. Regardless of what laid under the mask, his awesome totally outweighed his looks by far.

She rolled up the bottom of his mask slowly. Each inch revealed more and more scarred tissue. The appearance didn't bother her as much as wondering what happened to him, but her expression didn't reveal any of that.

Finally, when Raven rolled the mask up to his nose, she stood on her tip toes again and gently placed her lips on his scarred ones.

Instantly, she could feel sparks; like a million electric shocks radiating from his lips to hers. She almost felt as if she was floating and the only thing keeping her from floating up to the ceiling.

Surprisingly, she felt him press his lips against hers, multiplying the shocking feeling by a thousand.

_ "Holy shit! We just kissed a girl!"_

_**"Finally! How long has it been?!**_

_ "Waaaay too long!"_

This time, when she pulled away, he didn't try to stop her. He even let her roll his mask back down.

"Wow, for someone with the lungs of a lifetime smoker, you sure taste good." Deadpool commented. Raven smiled and shrugged before turning around and entering her room. Of course he would say something like that, he always had to say something.

_"Dude, that. Was. Awesome!"_

**_ "Yeah and if the kiss felt that good, imagine how good the sex will feel!"_**

Deadpool felt chills of excitement rush through his body. He could hardly imagine how great it would be, but he couldn't dawdle around here much longer. Without Raven to be his shield, Wolverine would be sure to kick him out if he found him.

So for now, it was back to the Dead Cave to take care of a certain problem growing in his nether regions. And then tacos...or pancakes. He couldn't decide which would taste better after a night, or morning considering it was about 3am right now, of shameful self-pleasuring.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Nothing really...unless you guys decided to pick your own music this time around_

_And, might I add, AWWWWH they kissed! _


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or the X-men or Grand Theft Auto or Lord of the Rings, or anything except for Raven. _

_Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

(_Bzzzzt...bzzzzt...bzzzzzt...)_

Deadpool yawned and rolled over in his bed, scratching his ass. He was having the most fantastic dream where he was being fought over by Domino and Rogue on the beach in nothing but their skimpy bikinis. It looked like Rogue might win, until-

"Mmmm...Raven..." he snored, grabbing his pillow and pulling it close to his chest. Raven was just getting out of the ocean. She tossed her soaking wet, inky black hair to the side as she walked in slow motion out of the crystal clear blue water. Her amazing rack bounced generously inside of two tiny triangles of fabric and her hips swayed from left to right much like the strippers he had seen time and time again. But the way she was doing it made it look way less trashy.

She walked past the cat fight in front of him, completely uninterested in what was going on and sat on the towel next to him.

"Hey, silent and sexy, what's hangin'?" the mercenary asked, his eyes fixating on her glistening breasts "Wait, don't tell me..."

_(Bzzzt...Bzzzt...Bzzzt...)_

Just where the hell was that noise coming from? There were no Mosquitos on this dream beach.

"Wade." Raven said, her voice sounding much like Jessica Rabbit "Why do you constantly waste your time with these losers?"

He didn't question how she knew his name or why she was calling her own best friend a loser. He was actually grateful that the writer was giving him such a fantastic dream as a reward for being a good boy.

"I'm not now." he replied, turning over on his side to face her. The two quarreling women dissipated like dust in the wind. A ghost of a smile crossed Raven's black lips.

"Good. I'm glad." she cooed, walking her fingers up his chest "I finally have you all to myself."

A mischievous grin crossed Deadpool's face as she stroked his scarred cheek with the back of her hand.

_(Bzzzt...bzzzt...bzzzt...bzzzt...bzzzt)_

God dammit, whatever was making that noise was going to be met with about fifty of Deadpool's bullets. He was just about to seal the deal with Raven right out here on this beach!

Raven pouted and immediately pulled her hand back.

"Aw, what's wrong, my silent love muffin?" he asked. Raven looked up at him from underneath long dark lashes. Jeeze, he knew she was sexy, but dream Raven was like sexy on steroids.

"You don't wanna touch me." she pouted. Deadpool smirked evilly, abruptly grabbing Raven's body and pulling her up on top of him.

"How's that for touching you?" he taunted. Raven smiled and rolled her head back, running her fingers through her hair as she did so. Her lower half pressed against his and with only the fabric of their bathing suits separating them, it was growing more and more difficult to not climax right then and there.

"Mmmmm, oh Wade." she moaned, pulling her hair over to the side.

"Mmmm, Raven." he moaned back, pulling her lower half down on his, relishing in the feeling of her smooth and wide hips. She smirked and began to wrap her dark hair around her hands.

"Hey, baby, whatcha gonna do with that?" he asked. Her smirk grew into an evil grin as she wrung out all of the ice cold water right onto Deadpool's face.

"Pffft...pffft...blah! Raven, what the-"Deadpool exclaimed, waking up to a waterfall pouring down on his face. He looked up and saw that the ceiling he patched last month.

"Damn shitty cockblocking ceiling." he cursed, taking off his mask and wringing the water out of it. His phone buzzed on the nightstand next to him. So that's what was making the buzzing noises.

"Oh, looks like someone's popular this morning!" Deadpool cheered, snatching the device up "Let's see who wants a piece of me today!"

He unlocked his phone and began to scroll down through the many, many text messages and missed calls he received since he fell asleep last night at like 3am.

"Hm, let's see...Cable...Cable...Cable...Cable...that guy we had a contract to do for today...Domino...Domino...Raaaaven!" he read.

_"Yay! Dreams really do come true!"_

"You said it, brain! Now let's see what, darkness wants!" he exclaimed, opening up her text message.

"Deadpool." it read "I have a contract for you. Interested?"

_"Ohhhh! She wants us to kill someone for her!"_

_**"I wonder what she'll pay us with."**_

Deadpool's mind drifted back to his earlier dream and he smiled pervertedly.

"Then we should waste no time in seeing what she needs!" he cheered, before replying. While waiting for Raven to reply about the details about her contract, he replied back to all of his other text messages he received while he was asleep. It wasn't until he zipped up his jumpsuit that his phone buzzed again.

"It seems as if a spider decided to invade my room while I was visiting my mom. Mind taking care of it for me? I'll pay you handsomely. ;)" Raven's message read.

_"Ohhhhh! Winky face!"_

**_"Isn't that code for 'she wants a ride on our disco stick'?"_**

_"Yeah! Whatever a disco stick is..."_

**_"It's our penis."_**

_"Ohhhhhh!"_

"Sure, my dark princess." he typed back "I'll be over there at around 4:30."

"Deadpool, your target was supposed to be eliminated at noon!" the next message read. It was from his current client and he didn't seem too pleased.

"Take care of it and take care of it before 3 or you can forget about getting paid!" the message continued. Deadpool frowned and tossed his phone onto his soaking wet bed. That was one grand, otherwise known as rent money, fix the ceiling money, and date with Raven money!

Deadpool, cracked his neck. It was already one. If he left now, he would probably be able to find his contract, collect his money, and make it to the X-Mansion just in time to take care of Raven's spider issue.

**_"It's really gonna be a close call today, isnt it?"_**

"Looks like it." Deadpool sighed in response. This would mean he would only have a small amount of time to dick around instead of all day. Ah, well, at least he would be killing stuff.

"So, it says here that the target always grabs lunch at Sam's deli at around 1:30." Deadpool muttered, looking at a coffee stained piece of paper with his target's day to day schedule written on it. He then looked at the clock on his phone.

"1:20." it read. Still 10 minutes to go. He groaned and slid his phone back into one of his many pouches around his waist. Waiting was the worst, especially when you had a super hot girl who would probably kiss you if you could kill the spider. Maybe she would give you tacos? Or both! Either way, there was no downside.

"C'monnnnnn..." Deadpool whined, tapping the gun on his waist with the tips of his fingers anxiously "Just get your damn happy meal and be done with it."

It had taken him a good chunk of the day to even find this place; this little noname place in a little noname part of New Jersey. Yes, he had to drive all the way to New Jersey on his dinky little scooter. And yes, his ass was still sore.

He began to hum the same tune he had heard being played over and over while he was fighting one of the giants. It was both catchy and fitting to the scarred mercenary. The same could also be said for Raven.

**_"I wonder what that song has to do with Raven."_**

_"Yeah. It was really creepy how it kept playing over and over again."_

"It was pretty creepy, but so are a lot of old timey songs." Deadpool reasoned with the voices in his head, earning some strange looks from passersby's.

**_"Well, what else could it be?"_**

_"Maybe Dana was trying to brainwash her and that song was the trigger!"_

_**"That seems highly illogical."**_

_"Yeah? Well, so is being voices in some guy's head!"_

_**"Ugh, you are so- wait a second, isn't that the guy?"**_

_"The guy? What guy?"_

**_"Our target, idiot!"_**

Deadpool watched as a man wearing a long tan trench coat carrying a brown briefcase entered the deli across the street. True to what his employer had stated, the target had thick brown hair combed over to the side, dorky Harry Potter glasses, and appeared to be in his late 20's or early 30's.

He gripped his gun in his hand and narrowed his eyes. This was it. The guy would walk out of the deli, sandwich in hand, and then BANG! One picture message later and Deadpool would be one thousand dollars richer and on his way to see Raven.

He waited a few minutes more, humming that same song over and over again, until the man emerged from the deli. He raised his gun and aimed it. For a split second, he and Harry Potter guy made eye contact before he pulled the trigger.

The sound of the gun caused the crowds of people to scream and part as the bullet went straight through the window of the door to the deli.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Deadpool cursed. In that split second of hesitation, the man had the time to drop his sandwich, turn at just the right time to avoid the bullet, and run down the right of the street.

Deadpool shoved his gun back into his holster and sprinted after his target, making sure to snatch up the sandwich as he did so.

"Hey, guy!" he shouted as he struggled to catch up with the young man "You forgot your happy meal!"

_"I wonder how he saw us? I thought we were hiding pretty well!"_

_**"It's not that hard to spot a guy in a primarily red jumpsuit pointing a gun at your face."**_

_"Yeah, you're right. We really got to rethink the whole red costume thing."_

"Not right now, I'm busy." Deadpool muttered to himself before yelling at the guy "What did you run track in high school or something?! Slow the fuck down already!"

They ran until they reached a pretty deserted part of town. Only a few drug dealers, some coke heads, and a middle aged prostitute or two lined the streets. However, they all ran once Deadpool pulled out his gun and shot his target in the back of the knee, causing him to fall down into the pavement like a deer.

"Finally...that...was...so...annoying..." Deadpool panted, slowing down to a jog and eventually a stop next to the man's body. His glasses had cracked from the impact and he had broken his nose. Despite the gaping bullet hole in his leg, this guy was pretty alright.

_**"Remember, we were told to make him suffer."**_

Deadpool nodded to himself. His employer was very adamant about that part. And he would be too if some guy committed grand larceny, then framed him for it.

"Look, man, whatever it is he's paying you, I'll double it." the man begged. Deadpool rolled his eyes. This wasn't his first rodeo. He had heard empty promises like that from all of his targets.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." he replied, tossing his gun into the air and catching it by the barrel "Like I haven't heard that before."

And with that, he proceeded to smash the butt of his gun into his target's face, making sure to pay close attention to the glasses. Boy, it hurt to have a shit ton of glass in the eye; after all he would know from personal experience. Too bad this guy didn't have a healing factor.

By the time he was done, blood was dripping off of the handle of Deadpool's gun. The man's glasses were completely annihilated after basically being hammered into the guy's skull. His whole face was swollen and bleeding. He even showed some signs of bruising and was missing a couple of teeth. He looked like a man who suffered.

"You really fucked with the wrong guy, pal." Deadpool said, wiping the blood off on the side of his target's jacket. The guy smirked and spat out some blood along with some more teeth.

"So, Jasper's still pissed about what happened, huh?" he laughed. Deadpool shrugged, pacing around his target like a shark.

"I dunno. He sounded kinda miffed, but I don't really go too much into detail outside of prices." he replied. The man shook his head. Deadpool took out his gun, made sure it was cocked and fully loaded, and pointed it at the man's shaking head.

"I can't believe this...I really can't..." he managed to say "Out of all people...you would think Jasper would be the one to understand."

None of this mattered to Deadpool. It never did. Their pleading for mercy, the death threats, and tragic backstories; it was all white noise to him. It was probably what made him so good at his job, even before he was experimented on at Three Mile Island.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, buddy." he muttered before shooting his target in the head, effectively rendering the man silent. His blood flowed out of the wound and created a large pool around him in a matter of seconds.

Deadpool hardly batted an eye, even when the blood got on his boots. Instead, he took out his phone and took a picture of the body. He sent it to his contractor and waited a few minutes, waving at a few brave souls who peeked through the windows of their houses.

He received a message back a few minutes later.

"Great job." it read "I've wired the money to your account."

That was all Deadpool needed to read. He deleted the message and the number from his phone, as part of the confidentiality agreement between them.

"Don't forget your sandwich." he told his now dead contract, throwing the brown baggie on the corpse. With his job done, Deadpool turned and walked away from the scene like the cool guy he is.

_"Sweet! One thousand dollars richer and now we'll be able to make it to Raven's with some time to spare!"_

Deadpool smiled happily to himself as he walked nonchalantly down the street towards his scooter.

**_"You think she'll give us another one of those kisses?"_**

_"I hope so! That last one made us feel so tingly! And not just in our pants!"_

Deadpool hopped onto his scooter and put the key in the ignition. It was a strange feeling he got when they kissed. It wouldn't be completely out there to say that his unbridled lust for the black haired girl had developed into a tiny crush.

_"Awwww! Raven and Waaade sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love! Then comes-"_

_**"I wouldn't be singing so loudly cuz we ALL have a crush on her."**_

_"Yeah...isn't she dreaaamy?"_

A dazed grin crossed the mercenary's face and his thoughts floated back to the dream he had this morning.

**_"Hey, idiot, instead of wasting so much time thinking about it, why don't you go get it!"_**

"You're right, disembodied voice in my head! Let's go and save Raven from the spiders!" He cheered, turning the key. His face fell when no noise was made from the engine.

"Shit." he cursed.

It was night by the time Deadpool walked his scooter into the X-Mansion. Turns out all the rain from the previous day, combined with an uncovered scooter resulted in a water filled gas tank.

"Don't worry, Raven..." He groaned as he trudged through the halls "I'll save you!"

He was absolutely exhausted. Why did she have to live all the way on the fourth floor?

_**"In the highest room in the tallest tower?"**_

_"Just like a princess!"_

He could see his dark haired princess sitting on the floor with her back to the wall next to her room. She wore her old black hoodie on top of some grey sweatpants shorts that showed off her shapely and toned legs.

She was drawing something in that sketchbook of hers, but he couldn't see what.

She glanced up for a moment and smiled when she saw him crawling down the hall to her.

"Deadpool!" the sign she held up read. It was very intricately made. She probably made these signs up ahead of time. Definitely not a good sign.

"You're late!" the next sign read. He crawled next to her and leaned up against the cool wall.

"A wizard is never late." Deadpool panted "Nor is he early...he arrives...ah fuck it...I'm late and I'm sorry, ok?"

Raven smiled sweetly and scribbled down another message.

"It's alright. You look tired, though. You want something to drink?"

Deadpool nodded, thankful she wasn't too mad.

A few minutes later, Deadpool and Raven were holed up in Raven's room with a whole bunch of Mike's Hard Lemonade and her Playstation 3. They were playing Grand Theft Auto on multiplayer, something Deadpool didn't know was possible. Also, Raven had downloaded several new mods that allowed one to change their character. Right now, Raven was playing as a horse and Deadpool was playing as a giraffe. They were on their own personal mission, riding around the city on motorcycles, beating up fat people with bats, and then stealing all of their money.

Turns out Raven had Wolverine kill the spider a while ago and, although that meant he wouldn't receive the surprise payment from her, Deadpool was surprisingly happy just chilling out with the mute girl. Just a not so typical Tuesday for the Merc with a Mouth.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Crazy by Patsy Clien_

_Bad Reputation by Joan Jett_

_And anything else, your pretty little heart desires! _


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey, guys, despite all of the really positive reviews I have received on the last couple of chapters, I as the creator of this story, feel terrible about them. They weren't my best, but they did get the point across, so that's why they'll stay up there. Also, I will say that I am not really that familiar with how to write down a Cajun accent or whatever, so for all intensive purposes of the story: JUST DEAL WITH IT! _

_Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or Deadpool or any of the music used. I own Raven and any other original characters unless otherwise specified!_

_Please continue to be good little readers and review, rate, and favorite to your hearts' desire! Without sounding too sappy, it really does mean a lot._

* * *

The next morning, Raven woke up on her floor, but surprisingly she was neither cold nor uncomfortable. She smelled blood and cheap hot sauce.

She looked down to see Deadpool, snoring like a baby, on her floor. He must've been her pillow for the night. He also must've draped the blue and white quilt over them both too.

Raven pulled the quilt off of her and laid it over Deadpool. Her computer and her Playstation were still on and running their game. A smirk cracked her face When she saw the suggestive situation Deadpool had set their characters up in before he fell asleep.

She made sure to save the game before turning the system off.

"Mmmmm...tittie tittie tittie..."Deadpool snored, pulling the quilt up to his nose. Raven smiled fondly at him and crawled onto her bed. She reached over and peered through the blinds of her window.

The day looked like it had long since started and everything was in full swing. From here, she could even see a rusted, dinky looking red scooter that had been leaned up next to the grand fountain. She wondered what dumpster in the city that hunk of junk crawled out of. Actually, the more she looked at it, the more vintage and adorable it looked. Maybe she would go out, fix it up, and take it for a ride around the campus.

Raven figured it was probably high time she get dressed. With nimble bare feet, she danced across her room, over a sleeping Deadpool, and to her closet where her jumpsuit hung.

She glanced back at Deadpool. He was dead asleep, there would be no way he'd see her get changed, at least not if she hurried. And hurry she did.

In a few short steps, Raven had her jumpsuit on tight. She looked back over at Deadpool; who was still sleeping, but this time laying flat on his stomach. It didn't feel right to just leave him here, even if all she was going to do was go to the kitchen and make some pancakes.

She decided to lay down on her bed and do her makeup in the faint lighting of the sun peeking through the blinds.

"Hmm...this isn't my apartment..."a male voice groaned, making Raven look up from her compact mirror. Her freshly painted black lips parted into a white toothy smile when she saw Deadpool rise up and stretch.

She waved at him sheepishly and she could see him smile back at her through his mask.

"Heyyyyyyy, good lookin'." he said, hopping up onto the bed with her "Great night last night."

Raven rolled her eyes and shut her mirror. All they did was drink and play Grand Theft Auto. Nothing too out of the ordinary for her, except it was a lot more fun with Deadpool.

"What? No good morning kiss?" Deadpool pouted. Raven smirked, leaned over, and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

_"Awwww! She likes us!"_

**_"How picturesque."_**

"You want breakfast?" Raven wrote. Deadpool nodded, patting his rumbling tummy.

Deadpool watched as Raven bustled around the kitchen making each of them pancakes, even though it was way past lunchtime. Instead of listening to her iPod, she had brought her laptop so they both could listen to music. Deadpool had to admit, her tastes in music were about as sporadic and random as his train of thought.

"There's something different about you." he stated, leaning across the stainless steel countertop lazily "Did you get a haircut while I was asleep?"

Raven smiled and Deadpool knew, if she had the ability, she would've laughed.

_"I wonder if she has one of those unattractive laughs like that one episode of Family Guy?"_

**_"I hope not...we seem to make her laugh a lot."_**

_"We're gonna find out today aren't we?"_

Oh shit! Her appointment was today! Deadpool looked over at the clock on the oven. He let out a sigh of relief. They still had a good hour or two to kill before her first appointment.

Raven set down a plate, piled high with steaming pancakes, in front of the mercenary. He lifted up his knife and fork, licking his lips underneath his mask. Raven smiled sweetly and sat next to him on the counter, a plate of pancakes in her hands. She watched her companion intently as he lifted his mask to his nose in order to eat the fried batter.

Angry red scars looked back at her, moving with his jaw as he ravenously ate the pancakes. They sent chills down her spine, and not because they disgusted her. They worried her. She wanted desperately to know what happened to him, but didn't want to cross a boundary.

She decided to turn her attention back to her pancakes; a nice safe option.

"Ya know, you would be awesome at that silent Indian game." Deadpool commented. Raven took her pad and paper in hand. It really was getting annoying, writing down all of her thoughts on paper. Not only was she wasting valuable comic book paper, but she couldn't write down everything fast enough to keep up with the Merc with a Mouth. It would be so much easier if she could talk. She would find out today.

"So, I noticed your way around a bike...think you have the same kinda finesse with a scooter?" he asked. She nodded. Bikes and scooters were remarkably similar to her. Maybe he saw the same scooter she did earlier and had the same idea...or he just wanted to blow it up. It was hard to tell.

"Great! Cuz well...I borrowed my cousin's sister's best friend's mother's scooter and well...somehow a bunch of water got into the gas tank...think you can fix it up so none of them will poke a whole bunch of holes in me?" he asked. She nodded, excitedly.

Water in the gas tank was an easy fix for her and it would fill up the hour or two of time they had left to fill. And besides, maybe motormouth Deadpool would give her more information about him. She really did want to know what else he liked besides Mexican food, pancakes, titties, and video games.

About an hour later, Raven had the tank to the red scooter cleared of all fluids. She also managed to tune it up a bit too after she noticed how dilapidated it was. She didn't think Wolverine would mind that she had used so many spare parts on the scooter; as long as she was out and interacting with people, right?

The hour had not been a silent one by far, courtesy of the motomouth Merc. During their hour together, Raven learned that Deadpool was part of the same Project X as she was, except he was part of a team with Wolverine. In fact, that was how he got his healing factor. Raven wondered if Wolverine was where she got her healing factor as well.

"So, what about you?" Deadpool asked. Raven wiped her greasy hands off on a nearby rag. She shook her head. Besides it being just too much to write, she wasn't quite sure how he'd react. Maybe she'd show him her comic books one day. Maybe-

"Hey, mon cher." a familiar Cajun voice said from the entrance to the open garage. Raven and Deadpool turned around.

"Remy!" Raven mouthed as she bolted into the card wielding Cajun's open arms. She slammed into him with such force, it almost knocked him off his feet. Deadpool could see Rogue standing nearby with an amused smirk on his face.

_"Wait, did she just call him 'Remy'? She never calls us by our name!"_

**_"Yeah, what's the deal with that?"_**

"I heard that they finally found out what's wrong with your voice, mon cher." Gambit explained, lifting the dark haired woman up slightly with one arm while adjusting his bag in the other "I came down to surprise you."

Raven blushed. She and Gambit always had a bit of chemistry between them, ever since he had helped her escape Three Mile Island and had taken her in. She had never really known exactly where they stood relationship wise, but had always held him very close to her heart. He was the first person since Cable to show her any real kindness since her father was murdered.

"You didn't have to do that." she mouthed. Gambit smirked, sending Raven's baser instincts into overdrive. Between his southern good looks and his heavy accent, she really didn't know what to be more turned on by. It wasn't like her crush on Deadpool disappeared. It was just Remy LeBeau appealed to her more "animalistic" instincts.

"Course I did, mon cher." he replied "I know how much you hate them doctors, so I came up here so you wouldn't be scared."

_"Hey! That's our job! He's trying to horn in on our action!"_

**_"This can not stand! Hurry up and say something! Don't just stand there like an idiot!"_**

"Aw, Remy, if I knew you would come all the way up here just cuz one of your friends hates the doctor's I would've asked you to come with me to my last prostate exam." Deadpool said. Raven blushed even deeper in embarrassment.

"Ah, still see ya don't know when to shut that mouth of yours, Deadpool." Gambit replied. Raven took a few steps back so she stood next to the previously mentioned mercenary. She looked at him sheepishly.

"Ya takin her?" Gambit asked. Raven felt instantly guilty. Remy came all this way just to take her to the doctor, but she had already agreed to let Deadpool take her today.

"So what if I am?" Deadpool replied. Raven didn't like where this was going. However, she was surprised when Gambit didn't reply with another belligerent comment.

He smiled instead, sending more chills up her spine.

"Well that's fine. I have to go settle in anyways. How bout you stop on by after your appointment and we'll-" he reached over and took Raven's hand in his, kissing her knuckles in a gentlemanly manner "Catch up a bit."

Their dark eyes met and Raven could feel her heart race out of her control. Their time apart had done nothing but made the Cajun more attractive to her. She hated his striking good looks and southern charm; and she especially hated the way that the two made her act in front of the guy she actually had genuine feelings for.

She nodded dumbly as he dropped her hand.

"Until we meet again, mon cher." he said with a wink. Deadpool clenched and unclenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to make this rival into another one of his Jackson Pollock's on the pavement. The only thing stopping him was that it would probably ruin his chances with Raven.

_"Stupid, Gambit! Just what's his deal anyways?"_

_**"I'm not too sure. Maybe we should do some digging after Raven's appointment."**_

_"Great idea!"_

Deadpool's voices dissipated as Raven snapped her fingers in front of his face. With Gambit gone, her attention was completely on him. It was what he preferred.

She had one of her dark eyebrows raised expectantly, giving him a look that said "You ready to go or what?"

"Sorry. Assholes were arguing about what to get for dinner tonight." he lied "You ready to go?"

She shrugged. She was never ready to go to the doctors, but with Deadpool by her side she was about as ready as she could ever be.

Raven sat in her paper thin hospital gown, swinging her feet back and forth happily as she watched Deadpool dick around with the tongue depressors; or, as he liked to call them, "glorified popsicle sticks". They were waiting for the results from the most recent scan on Raven's throat. The doctor used the very latest in technology to take multiple images of the inside of Raven's throat so they could hopefully produce a 3D image of what they were dealing with. This shit was so high tech that not even the most modern of hospitals knew what it was.

"So, if there's a frog in your throat, you think we can trade it to some French people for a couple of loaves of that really long bread?" Deadpool asked. Raven smiled in response. It really was nice having him here to distract her from how nervous she was about the image results, even if she had no idea what he would want with baguettes.

"Maybe we could trade it for some snails and have snail racing competitions! I'd bet we'd make a fortune!" he cheered. Raven's smile shrunk into a small smirk. Now that she was highly doubtful of. Besides, how could a frog of any size fit into such a tiny box in her throat? Or even better, why was she sitting here mulling over the logic of a madman?

"So, Raven!" the doctor said, jovially as he entered the examining area "We have some excellent results here, if you would care to look at them with me."

She nodded and slid off of her seat. Everything sounded good so far, but they weren't over the hill yet.

As they followed the doctor out of the room, Raven grabbed Deadpool's hand in hers, squeezing it nervously. He took her nervousness as an opportunity to try and see her bare ass, but was stopped by her tugging on his hand irritably.

She began to cough and he knew that she was in pain and there would be blood. So, he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, which caused her to look up at him. He could see a little bit of blood on her hand; not as much as last time, which was good.

"Hey, don't worry. You're doing great so far." he assured her "Now all that's left is to hear what this egghead found on your voice box and then you're free to go see the ragin Cajun."

Raven rolled her eyes. Without Gambit nearby, it was easy for her to tell herself that seeing him was the last thing on her mind and that all she wanted to do was go back in her room, drink, and play video games with Deadpool. However, he did come all the way from Louisiana to help her, so she kinda owed him. Actually, she owed him a whole lot; considering the escape from shithole island and the two years of additional care and companionship.

They entered what Raven assumed to be some kind of viewing room. Bright white X-Ray lights lined the far wall and a large, round, metal table was set in the center, surrounded by matching chairs. Various other medical supplies were scattered all over the room.

"Here. Have a seat." the doctor instructed, pulling out one of the chairs. Raven sat in it, making sure to pull Deadpool down into the one next to hers, and never letting go of his hand. In fact, her grip grew so tight that she could actually hear the bones in his fingers crack.

"Agh, Jeeze, woman," he groaned, trying to stretch his fingers out "It's not like you're giving birth here, loosen up on the death grip."

She chose to ignore him. After all, he volunteered for this, so it was almost like he volunteered to have his hand crushed. Besides, he had the healing factor just like she did, so what did it matter if he received a few broken bones. They would heal eventually.

"So my suspicions were confirmed about the box." the doctor explained, pulling up a holographic image of The inside of Raven's throat above the table where they sat. Deadpool rolled his eyes, clearly not impressed by the technology.

"I've seen plenty of throat insides before, dude. Just cut to the chase." he said, propping his feet up on the table. Raven, however, was stunned. Even without any enhancing, she could see the dark metal box resting at the very center; right where her Adam's apple would be.

"As you can see here." the doctor said, after sighing at Deadpool's lack of interest, while zooming in on the box "There is some type of metal box that has been surgically attached to what you all know as the voice box. As I suspected, it was put in place to limit all vocal activity."

"So all you have to do is remove it, right?" Deadpool asked. The doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid it's not so simple." he replied, zooming in on the image once more. Leading straight from either side of the box were a copious amount of tiny wires. They formed a ring all the way around to the back of the throat.

"As you can see here, these wires are all interlaced with the various blood vessels, nerves, muscles, and other tissues of the throat." he explained "Removing them will not be an easy thing, but I believe that with your healing factor you will make it through just fine."

Raven stared at the wires, dumbfounded, and touched her neck as if she would be able to feel them. Instead of feeling wires, she felt nothing but smooth skin. Of course, that's all she had felt around her neck for years. It's not like today would be the day she'd realize she had a wire collar protruding from the inside of her neck.

"So what exactly are these wires for?" Deadpool asked "What do they do? And just why would anyone wanna shut Raven up?"

The doctor shook his head.

"I'm afraid there's not much else I can tell you without actually being able to examine them for myself. And do to that we will have to remove them." he looked at Raven, who seemed utterly petrified about the idea of having to go in for surgery "I'm afraid there's really no other way."

Deadpool looked over at Raven, who was shaking in her seat; and it wasn't just because of her skimpy gown. He could see the fear in her eyes. It was a kind of fear that laid beyond just a typical phobia. This was pure terror.

"Give it to us straight, doc." he stated, not taking his eyes off the shaking girl "If you do remove these things, will she be able to speak again."

The doctor nodded.

"Yes." he responded. Deadpool grinned.

"You hear that, Raven?" he asked "Just a few snips and you'll be able to talk again!"

She wasn't phased. Raven kept staring at the holographic image with that same look on her face. Deadpool rolled his eyes.

"Look, you'd be doing me a real favor if you would just get this whole mute thing fixed so I can hear you moaning my name while we bang."

That got her attention. Terror was replaced with an intrigued kind of irritation and the grip on his hand was loosened. He felt her slap the back of his head with her free hand. Oh well, at least he broke her out of her daze.

"The choice is really up to you." the doctor continued "As far as I can tell, there wouldn't be any real risks if you left whatever kind of device this is in your throat."

Raven turned her attention back to Deadpool. In her current state, she couldn't even say his name, much less moan it. Besides, she had been dying to have an actual conversation with someone for years. She had been silent for so long that she even forgotten what her voice sounded like.

Although the thought of being put under so people in white coats could cut her open pretty much sent Raven into a tailspin, she had her friends to protect her and make sure nothing bad happened. She squeezed Deadpool's hand, hope glimmering in her eyes as she nodded her answer.

* * *

_Song(s) Used (in no particular order...honestly I would recommend putting your iPod or Pandora or whatever on shuffle for this one...anyways, this is what I got when I used the magical shuffle button):_

_Levels by Avicii_

_Daylight by Matt & Kim_

_Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy_

_Hallucinations by Angels and Airwaves_

_Oh! Darling by The Beatles_

_Mellow Fellow by B.o.B. _


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or any of the X-Men! I own Raven and any other original characters unless otherwise specified. I also don't own any of the songs used in the story either!_

_Also, I'm fully aware that this chapter is short. But it's got everything I need it too and if I added any more it would be taking away from the next chapter. Trust me, I've got everything super organized! _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Raven stood in front of the door to Gambit's room nervously. Deadpool had left almost immediately after they squared away the various dates for the multiple surgeries to remove her wire collar claiming that he "had to go to Samantha's before the dinner rush started or else he would explode". Raven highly doubted that was really the case, since she knew for a fact that her tacos were his favorite and he wasn't shy about demanding them from her. Maybe it was that Deadpool wasn't very fond of Gambit? Maybe he was even jealous? It was hard to tell.

Raven inhaled and rapped her knuckles on the door politely. It wouldn't be right not to talk to Gambit and hang out for a bit. After all, it's been so long and they used to be so close. Even if he did send her baser instincts into a tailspin, the right thing to do would be to accommodate him.

The door opened and Raven was met with the devilish eyes and cocky grin of Gambit. She felt her heart race and a warm sensation travel from her chest all over her body.

"Why, hello there, Gwendolyn." he greeted her "Fancy seein you around at this hour."

God, the way he said her name in that deep Cajun accent almost made her knees buckle beneath her. He was one of the few people who knew her real name and damn did he know how to use it to his advantage.

Raven smiled sweetly in response and he stepped aside, holding his arm out and welcoming her into his room.

"Please, come in and sit, mon cher." he said, as Raven stepped inside "Tell me all about how them doctor's are gonna make my birdie sing again."

His southern charm and manners were not making things any easier for Raven. It would be easy to just give in and jump all over the Cajun sensation now, but it would make things really awkward when she would see Deadpool again. It wasn't like they were dating, but hooking up with a guy then going out on a date with a different one only three days later seemed like a really trashy thing to do.

She took a seat on the bed and watched her old friend shut the door. After he did so, she began to scribble down all the information she had gathered from the doctor's as quickly as she could.

By the time he pulled up a chair next to her, she had finished and handed him her sketchbook.

"Boy, you sure are prompt." he commented, taking the sketchbook politely. As he read, Raven let her eyes wander through the room.

Gambit's trademark bow staff was leaning in the corner by the door with the same debonair look that its master had. A couple of stacks of cards were set up on the desk and a few poker chips also rested there. Gambit had set up some of his deodorants and colognes in the windowsill. Raven smiled, remembering just how nice the Cajun smelled. It was a classy, yet down to earth scent. Nothing like cheap hot sauce and blood.

"So they're gonna be operatin on ya pretty much every day next week?" Gambit said, handing the sketchbook back. Raven nodded. It wasn't ideal, for her or the doctors, but due to her healing factor it was important to get all of the little wires out of her throat before the tissue had a chance to repair itself over the machinery. Deadpool agreed to be present for every surgery, but she wasn't quite so sure he would follow up with Remy here. She hoped he would suck it up and just be there.

"Hm, well that don't sound like too much fun at all." the card wielding mutant said, leaning back in his seat. His red eyes flashed to her black ones.

"I think we should have a bit of fun while we can now. What do ya say?" he suggested. Raven crossed her arms across her chest, as if that was going to stop her jumpsuit from magically unzipping itself. She raised her eyebrow and attempted to give him a look that said "What do you mean by fun?"

"Aw, chere, I just wanna take ya outside." he explained "Rogue told me ya hardly even been outta ya room since ya got here and that ya've only been in the city once. I figured it's high time ya get out there and I figure I'm the guy to get ya to do it."

Raven smiled and rolled her eyes. Remy's ego certainly didn't shrink any in the time they had been apart. It didn't even seem to phase him that without Deadpool shoving his way into her life, Raven would still be stuck in her little room until the end of days. In fact, without Deadpool, Raven probably wouldn't have ever discovered what was wrong with her throat or learned that her sister was behind the most recent dastardly plot against humanity. She never realized it before, but she owed Deadpool a whole lot. Almost as much as she owed Remy.

"I know it's not Louisiana." the brown haired Cajun said "But it'll be just you and me again. Just like old times."

Raven's dark lips parted into a sparkling smile. Even though she was still sort of a recluse while living in the south, Gambit forced her to go out with him every now and again. They went gambling, dancing, and even went to Mardi Gras. They were seen so much together that locals even started calling her 'Mrs. LeBeau'; to which the pair would just laugh off.

Gambit grinned and stood up, holding his hand out for her to take.

"Ah, there's that smile. Let's go out for some dinner and walk through the park." he said. She took his hand with a smile still on her face. It wasn't drinking copious amounts of alcohol and playing video games until the sun rose, but it did sound nice.

"Maybe we'll hit up the clubs tomorrow." he told her with a wink "But not tonight, wouldn't wanna wear you out on my first night here."

Raven blushed and rolled her eyes. Just why in the hell did he have to be so charming? Were all southern men this way? She highly doubted it. Remy seemed like an old soul to her.

A few hours later, Gambit and Raven were walking closely together through Central Park; which, minus a few nighttime creatures, was pretty much empty. The starry night sky covered the air above them as they strolled on the dark pavement.

"See? Wasn't that better than sitting in your room all day?" Gambit asked. Raven smiled and nodded, clutching her box of leftover sushi, tempura, and sticky rice close to her chest. She inhaled the scent ravenously, even though they just ate a few hours ago. Besides Mexican food, Asian food was her favorite. It didn't matter what type in particular either.

"Good. And the food?" he asked. Raven kissed her thumb and index finger before holding it to the sky like she had seen so many chefs do after eating or making an award winning dish. The meal really was divine. Remy had taken her to the fanciest sushi bar in the city and ordered their best cuts of sushi with the finest warm sake the place had to offer. Raven could still feel the warm beverage travel down her throat and, although she couldn't get drunk, she felt slightly intoxicated. Or maybe she was just that happy.

Gamut smirked and pulled Raven close to him, holding her close to him by her waist.

"Great! Nothing but the best for my girl." he said, kissing her cheek. Raven felt the area begin to burn and was thankful for the darkness responsible for keeping it concealed from the Cajun.

Raven held up a small notecard that she had picked up in the restaurant. Remy stopped looking at her and turned his attention to her card.

After reading, he smirked and pinched his black haired companion's nose playfully.

"Never you mind where I got the money from, mon chere." he chuckled. Raven rolled her eyes. Whatever he stole or won through gambling, she just hoped the previous owner didn't have too much personal value in it.

"Well, we should get you back home soon." Remy commented, before stooping down and plucking a white lily from a nearby garden. He broke off part of the stem and tucked the white flower into Raven's dark hair.

"Wouldn't want them thinkin you got kidnapped by the Brotherhood." he stated, winking and letting his fingers slide down through Raven's dark and silky locks. Jeeze, now she remembered why she always had so much trouble determining their relationship back when she lived with him in Baton Rouge. He would always treat her like this, but never said anything about it.

Raven shook her head. It's not as if any of this mattered. She was going to try and start something with Deadpool; who she knew at least felt something towards her.

Gambit noticed Raven's troubled expression and his brow furrowed.

"What's wrong, mon chere?" he asked "Somethin on your mind?"

She looked up at him and their eyes met. She knew he could tell what was on her mind, he always could. Even without a voice, Raven hardly ever needed any assistance in telling Remy exactly what was on her mind.

"Ya thinkin about Deadpool, ain't ya?" he guessed. She nodded. Of course she was thinking about him. Even with Gambit there, the red clad Merc with a Mouth was never really that far from her mind. Gambit sighed and continued to lead Raven through the park with his arm still wrapped around her waist.

"Look, Gwendolyn, he ain't good for you. It's not like I'm much better." he began before taking a look at the dangerous expression Raven wore. If it was one thing she hated the most, it was when men- brilliant, handsome, and all around good men- said they were no good. It was like some sort of cheap cop out. As if saying that was an excuse to do whatever the hell they wanted.

"But Deadpool is just plain crazy." he continued "Like completely bonkers, mon chere. You don't wanna be with someone like that. And in the end, you really can't."

Raven's eyes narrowed. He was beginning to sound just like Cable; acting just like her father by telling her what she could and couldn't do. Neither of these men were her father. Neither of them earned that right.

Raven pushed Remy's arm off of her and looked up at him, trying to convey her feelings to him before running off into the night.

Remembering what happened last time she disappeared, she sent Rogue a quick text before shutting off her phone for good. She didn't feel like getting hassled by Remy right now. Besides, knowing him, he would probably just charm his way back into her good graces. Raven at least wanted to have the rest of this night to feel like she was really genuinely angry at the Cajun. She knew full well he was just trying to warn her, just like Rogue had two months ago. She just wanted to make her own decisions.

"Well, well, fancy seeing you out so late at night. And in the city, no less." a familiar voice said. Raven's heart leaped up into her throat when she saw none other than Deadpool flip nimbly down a fire escape and right in front of her.

Raven removed another note card from her pocket and wrote down that she was lost and needed him to help her back to the X-Mansion.

Deadpool read the card and nodded.

"Sure, but it'll cost ya." he said. She rolled her eyes. If he thought she was going to fuck him just because he showed her the way back home then he must be really crazy.

"You gotta give me whatever is in that bag." he said, pointing at her to go box. Raven rolled her eyes again and held the box out to the mercenary. She doubted he would really enjoy the raw fish that much, but if it meant she could get back home before Rogue or Wolverine set out on another search and rescue then so be it.

"Yippie! Now onward to the X-Cave!" Deadpool cheered, striking a pose.

A little while later, Deadpool and Raven managed to sneak back into the X-Mansion without anybody noticing. They made their way stealthily to Raven's room. It surprised Raven that nobody saw them due to the fact that Deadpool was giggling like a teenager sneaking in past his curfew.

"Hehe, this is so much fun!" he giggled "Usually when I do this, Fuzzball always catches me."

He winked down at Raven.

"Maybe you're my good luck charm." he whispered. Raven rolled her eyes as she dug the key to her room out of her pocket. All she wanted to be was in bed, but she had no intention of going alone.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside, leading Deadpool by his hand into her room.

"Whoa, Raven, what are you-"

She locked the door with a loud click. Right now, she didn't care so much about what she was doing. Right now, she just wanted to get changed and snuggle up next to someone who smelled like blood and cheap hot sauce.

She began to take off her jumpsuit. She did it in a very haphazard way, not caring that Deadpool was watching her every move with wide open eyes.

"Whoa...Raven...dude..."he stammered, watching her scrounge around for some sweatpants and a nightshirt in nothing but a black polka dot bra and black boy shorts.

_"Best night ever?"_

_**"Indeed!"**_

Once she found all of her nighttime attire, she put it on and pulled her hair back into a messy bun. Somehow, she had managed to remove all of her makeup, but what did Deadpool care about that. He just saw Raven in her under ware and she looked hot.

She pushed the mercenary onto the bed gently and crawled underneath the covers with him.

"Heyyyyyyy, I like where this is goin." Deadpool said, mischievously, reaching for her breasts. Before he could even touch them, Raven laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. She even hooked one leg over his. Her embrace was filled with need, as if all she needed or wanted right now was to be held.

Deadpool rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. True, it wasn't sex, or even getting to second base, but it still felt nice. He couldn't remember ever feeling like he was needed. Not even when he was with Domino.

Raven closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into Deadpool's chest as their combined body heat made the insides of the sheets warmer and warmer. There were no guessing games here. Everything was simple. For now, this was all she needed. For now this was all she could ask for.

* * *

_Song(s) Used (in order):_

_Naked as We Came by Iron & Wine_

_First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes_


	10. Chapter 10

_Hey, I know it's been a long time, but I've had a lot of shizz going on in my life. Some of it not so nice, so it didn't really put me in a writing mood. Trust me, if I've could've foreseen I would've said something. _

_Anyways, I'm not going to say this is the best chapter I've put out there cuz it's not...sorry for the disappointment. This is really just a transitional chapter cuz the one you really want to read is the next one (which is Deadpool's date with Raven! YAY!). Also, despite what I just said, I worked really super hard to make this one even if it is a bit short again. _

_Thanks for everything and I absolutely love the reviews and shit you guys give me!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or the Xmen! I own Raven and only her!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

The next morning, Raven awoke in Deadpool's arms to the sound of a polite knocking on her door. She groaned and cuddled closer to her warm companion, who tightened his hold on her as well while mumbling incoherently under his breath.

"Raven? Raven, it's Gambit." the Cajun's voice said from outside the door "I don't wanna wake you up or anythin...I just wanna talk about what happened last night."

Raven yawned and reluctantly pushed herself off Deadpool. She didn't want to talk to Remy just yet, but the longer he stood out there making noise the more likely Deadpool would be to hear it.

He groaned and reached for her as she got up out of bed. She didn't bother fixing her hair or anything. After all, she planned to go straight back to bed with Deadpool as soon as she heard what Remy had to say. There would be no way his southern charm and looks would have any effect on her with her crush right there in her bed.

She unlocked and opened the door slowly, making as little noise as possible. Remy stood in the doorway, his knuckles poised to knock again. Even though he was dressed and freshly showered, he appeared to be very tired.

"Oh, hey Gwen, didn't think you would be up this early. Mind if I come in?" he asked, trying to peek over Raven's shoulder. She shook her head and shut the door a little bit so he couldn't see the sleeping mercenary in her bed.

"Alright...alright...I get it." he said, taking a step back "The way I acted last night was wrong. I'm not your daddy and I ain't even your boyfriend."

He sighed and rolled his head. Raven knew his shoulders were probably stiff from playing solitaire all night; he did that when he was troubled by something.

"Deadpool has done a lot for ya and I owe him for that. So, can ya forgive me?" he finished. Raven smirked. Of course she could. It's not like this was a big deal anyways. However, the fact he was so worried that he had irrevocably damaged their relationship was endearing.

She nodded and faked a yawn. This apologizing was nice and all, but she had a Merc with a mouth who needed cuddling.

"Alright, well, I'll let ya get back to your beauty sleep. See ya round." he said, with a wink. Raven smiled and wiggled her fingers tiredly before shutting the door and locking it once more.

She was very proud of how she handled herself. Once the initial excitement of Remy wore off and with Deadpool right there, it was easy not to feel all hot and bothered by the Cajun.

Raven happily made her way back over to her bed. Deadpool groaned as she wiggled back underneath the covers.

"Mmmm, baby, you move too much." he groaned, wrapping her back up in his arms once more. Raven's body shook in what would've been a giggle as the red clad Merc nuzzled his masked face in her neck.

She felt the familiar hold around her lungs and she began to cough into her hand. Deadpool rolled his eyes, sat up in bed, and patted Raven on her back. He knew she was in pain and he knew when she would remove her hand from her mouth there would be blood. Nothing like a bit of blood to start off the morning.

"Jeeze, next birthday you have I'm gonna get you a whole shit ton of cough drops." he said as he patted her back. Raven smiled through her painful coughing and rolled her eyes.

Eventually her harsh coughing subsided into small coughs. Deadpool smirked happily. Seeing pretty ladies in pain wasn't really his thing, unless they signed up for it of course.

"You know what will make you feel better?" he suggested. Raven wiped some of the blood off her lips. She could only imagine what he would say.

"Pancakes." he said. Raven rolled her eyes. That was probably number five on the list of things she thought he would say.

"Pleaaaaaaase?" he begged. Raven rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the side of her bed. Of course she would make pancakes. They were the only natural choice for breakfast.

"Score!" Deadpool cheered, pumping his fists in the air "Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg!"

Raven smiled sweetly at her red clad friend before turning and exiting the room. Deadpool smiled as he watched her leave. However, as he pushed himself off the bed, he heard a strange crunching under his hand. He lifted it and saw a now crushed white lily.

**_"Didn't Raven have that tucked into her hair last night?"_**

_"Must've fallen out while we were sleeping."_

"Wonder what happened with her last night?" Deadpool mused, twirling the crushed flower around thoughtfully. He remembered that after her appointment, she had gone to visit Gambit. He reasoned that was where she got the sushi from, but what was with the flower?

_**"Dude, pancakes are at stake here! No time to worry about some dumb flower!"**_

_"Yeah! Worry after you have put food in our belly!"_

"Alright! Alright! Quit your belly achin!" the mercenary said, tossing the crushes flower into a nearby waste bin "Jeeze, when will it ever be about what I want, huh?"

And with that, he leaped off the bed, sprinted down the hall, and after the jumpsuit wearing woman he had just spent the night with.

When he had finally caught up, they were running side by side; equally matched. He couldn't help, but notice how her breasts bounced beneath the black leather. They were so hypnotizing and the longer he stared, the more he began to realize that looking away would never be an option.

However, Deadpool's breast gazing would be cut short as he ran directly into the Cajun sensation himself. He was standing with a cocky smirk against the doorway to the kitchen. Deadpool's eyes narrowed. He never really hated this guy before, but he was really starting to.

Raven's face lit up as she smiled, raising her eyebrow as if asking him what he was doing there.

"I thought you would be comin down here to make some pancakes, chere." Gambit explained "So I came down first and made some for ya, just the way ya like em too."

Raven's body shook in a silent giggle and she nodded her appreciation to Gambit. She ducked around him, following her nose into the kitchen. Deadpool moved to follow, but was stopped by Gambit's body once more

"I didn't know you were gonna be joinin' us today, so I only made enough pancakes for two." Remy said "I hope it's no trouble."

Oh yeah, this guy was officially on the shit list. If only he wasn't Raven's friend; cutting his pretty face up into pieces wouldn't be an issue then. Maybe the red mercenary could get away with shooting his rival in the thigh.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." he replied in a fake Cajun accent "I'm glad you were kind enough to go through the trouble of making us food. You're really too kind."

Smiling with satisfaction, Deadpool maneuvered his way around the card wielding mutant. Even though he had another contract to take care of today, he didn't want to pass up breakfast with Raven; especially with Remy here to horn in on the action. Besides, he still had the money from his previous contract to fall back on if he couldn't get this one done in time. Sure, they would probably have to order from the value menu at a spruced up fast food joint, but it was better than nothing, right?

His smile faded when he saw Raven sitting at a table covered with a white tablecloth. Strange pink flowers resembling bleeding hearts poured out of a glass vase, shadowing a small plate of peach slices, a plate of bacon, and some syrup.

_"Dude, this is a pretty awesome set up! I don't know if fast food is gonna cut it for tomorrow!"_

_** "But where else we should go? It's too late to make reservations for anything that'll top this!**_

_Damn, Gambit! Isn't this like against the guy code or something?!"_

_**"Possibly, but no time to debate about that now! Eyes on the prize!"**_

The dark haired beauty sitting at the table was the real prize, though. She lifted a forkful of steaming hot pancake into her mouth. Some of the syrup dripped off the fork and onto her dark lip. She licked it off with her small pink tongue. Jeeze, only she could make pancakes have this much sex appeal.

Out of the corner of his eye, Deadpool could see Gambit approaching; making a beeline straight for the plate of pancakes opposite of Raven.

**_"Hurry up and stop him, you fool!"_**

Without any more prompting, Deadpool rushed to the plate, taking a forkful of the still steaming breakfast food and shoving it under his mask and into his mouth. Remy raised an eyebrow and, while shaking his head, reached for a slice of peach instead.

_"Yeah! We showed him!"_

_**"But how come we feel so stupid?"**_

"How come you put all this together?" Raven wrote down on her sketchbook. Funny, Deadpool didn't see her grab it when she ran out of the room this morning. Gambit took a bite of his orange, careful to make sure he didn't make a mess of the juicy fruit.

"I just felt awful about what happened last night. So, I put together a bit of your favorites." he answered "The pancakes, the peaches, even these." he touched one of the pink flowers gently "Bleedin' hearts are still your favorite?"

Raven nodded, blushing slightly. It hadn't occurred to her that her old friend had put together all of her favorites into what would've been a pretty romantic breakfast. Or brunch.

Gambit smirked and took another slice of peach.

"Good. I had a heck of a time findin' a florist who would put together a bouquet of those things. They ain't your garden variety plant, ya know." he teased. Raven rolled her eyes and scribbled her response down.

"I don't like anything garden variety." was her reply when she held up her sketchbook again. Deadpool nodded, his active imagination running at full gear with thoughts of what he would do for his date with Raven tomorrow. It would be so much easier to plan a date that had no expectations of being one of those Hollywood experiences.

**_"Except definitely no fast food joints!"_**

Deadpool felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He knew it was either the guy who had hired him or Cable asking where he was. Christ, Cable was getting needy. He was never this needy before.

Regardless of who it was, it gave the Merc with a Mouth the extra push he needed to get the hell out of there and take care of his contract.

"Well, hate to eat and run." Deadpool said, shoving more pancake into his mouth "but I gots me some bizzness to take care of."

Raven smiled and held a finger to her lip as her body shook in a silent laugh. True, he was no classy Southern gentleman. But Deadpool had a little something extra. The best part about it was: he wasn't just batshit crazy. He was just Deadpool. The Merc with a Mouth and enough charisma to make even the most accomplished politician green with envy.

"I'll see ya tomorrow." he said, standing up "Unless you get lost in the city again."

He gave her a playful wink. Raven blushed and picked up her notepad to write down a response. Deadpool grabbed her biceps, leaned down, and kissed her on the cheek. Even though he didn't even pull his mask up, she could feel her cheek tingle. Even after she watched him dart out of the room, she could feel her heart beat erratically.

"Damn, if I had a Nicole every time you looked at me like that I think I'd be a very poor man." Gambit commented. Raven reached over and smacked his arm playfully.

"So, I was thinking we could-"the Louisiana native began. But before he could even finish, Raven held up her sketchbook.

"Sorry! I'm spending the day with Rogue getting civilian clothes and junk! Maybe later, Remy!" it read. Remy read, dumbfounded. He thought for sure the breakfast and the heartfelt apology would've ensured him a day with the dark haired beauty. He immediately blamed Deadpool for throwing his game off.

After she was sure he had read the message completely, she wiped her lips free of any syrup, chugged her cup of coffee, grabbed a couple of peach slices before running out of the kitchen to meet her best friend. Not before, of course, giving Remy a soft, apologetic kiss on the cheek.

By the time Raven returned to her room, it was 2 am. She had spent all day shopping with Rogue and Domino in the city, then spent all night watching musicals with them in Rogue's room. She was exhausted, but at least she was all prepped and ready for her date with Deadpool tomorrow.

She smiled as she hung up her dress and sweater for tomorrow. Everything was happening so fast. Tomorrow was the date with her crush. Then, once the week started again, she would be able to speak for the first time in Lord knows how long.

Her smile turned into a grin at the thought. All these years she hasn't been able to even make a sound. Not a scream, a sigh, a moan, or even a chuckle. She wondered if her unused voice would still sound like it did before the experiment or if it would sound any different. Hell, she couldn't even remember what her voice sounded like so what did it matter.

Raven let a bunch of air out through her nostrils and she bounced over to her bed, landing on it with a soft thud.

The sheets still smelled like Deadpool. Raven pulled them around her, imagining they were his arms. She could feel his fingers trace up and down her body. At first, they tickled her lightly over the fabric of her pajamas. Then, they traveled under, touching her pale skin with soft, light touches.

Raven let her mouth open as the gloved hands traveled over her most sensitive areas. She could feel his breath on her neck now. It was hot and smelled like taco meat. Certainly not the garden variety scent a woman would have in her fantasy, but Raven wasn't the kind for garden variety.

Right before the gloved hands entered her, her black eyes shot open. What was she doing? Deadpool wasn't the one touching her: she was! And it wasn't his breath: it was her own. Somehow she had managed to pull the sheets completely over her head, which would explain the hot, taco smelling air around her.

All her life, Raven had never engaged in self-pleasuring. In fact, she had never engaged in any sexual activity ever. At first, she was focused on her studies. Then, revenge. Then, cancer. Then, experimentation followed by vocal loss and the crippling realization that she had been a part of one of the bloodiest massacres against mutant kind. Yeah, not much room for a love life with stuff like that.

She immediately pulled her sheets down and turned to look out the window. All of those terrible thoughts and memories ran through her head. So far, everyone seemed to be accepting of her and, because of Deadpool, she was starting to have hope that they would still accept her even with her dark past.


	11. Chapter 11

_Hey! Sorry for it taking so long! Just moved back into college and junk! Anyways, I tried to make this chapter extra long as payment for my lateness!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or any of the X-Men. I don't own any music used. I do own Raven, however, so no touchies!_

* * *

Raven sat up in bed and stretched, scratching her bed head tiredly. She knew her hair would be sticking up every which way and that her face probably looked like she had just risen from the dead. There was a lot of work that needed to be done to change this beast back into a beauty.

First thing's first on the list: a shower. Raven stood up and leaned back, cracking her spine, before walking over to her closet where here shower caddy, towel, and bathrobe were. She retrieved them and slid on a pair of flip flops.

Only a select few rooms in this mansion had their own bathrooms, but for the majority of the rooms there were no private bathrooms. The residents of these rooms were forced to used the communism bathrooms. It wasn't so bad, except if anyone was in the shower all those who were using the toilets must shout their warning before flushing; which was clearly a problem for the silent Raven.

Raven trudged out of the room, thankful she didn't have to go to the bathroom this morning. Usually, she would wait in her little stall after finishing her business until everyone was gone. True, it wasn't the most ideal for her, but what else could she do. She didn't want to flush and bring down a searing hot waterfall upon any unsuspecting shower users.

She walked down one of the many grand staircases, waving lazily at the few who greeted her with a friendly hello and good morning. Today was going to be a day of preparation.

As she entered the bathroom, she immediately felt thankful that there were no people inside. Obviously, due to her vocal handicap, awkward robe clad morning chit chats were not her thing. That and she was never really that much of a morning person. Especially before her morning cup of coffee or shower.

Raven smiled happily as she skipped over to the nearby radio and turned up the volume dial. That one song from the intro to Legally Blonde was playing and Raven honestly couldn't think of a better song to start off her day. After all, it was the day she had been waiting so long for.

She chose her usual shower in the far right of the vast room and shut the curtain. She turned the water on till it was pretty much at it's hottest before removing her robe and stepping inside.

The sudden introduction of the hot water on Raven's cold skin initially caused her to cringe, but she soon relaxed and a stupid looking smile made it's way onto her face. Hot showers were always an all time favorite of the black haired girl, even if they made her look like a steamed lobster afterwards.

She was the kind of girl who liked to use a series of different smelling shampoo and conditioners each time she took a shower. Not only did it add some variety to her hair's scent, but it also was healthier for her hair; at least according to Rogue. One of the Southern beauty's many tips to Raven was to "always change up your shampoo and conditioner, shug, that way your hair don't get used to just one kind and can get all the benefits of each shower". It didn't make much sense to Raven, but it was part of her old routine that didn't need changing.

Anyways, today's scent was a combination citrus and vanilla which reminded Raven so much of the summertime. It was her favorite season and she really was sad to see it go. Here in New York, the season was just starting to change into autumn; she could see it in the leaves and feel it as each night it took more and more blankets to keep the pale woman warm in her sleep.

Speaking of cold nights, would a sweater really be enough to keep her warm that night? Her skirt really didn't offer much protection from the elements. Plus, the longer she lingered in the shower, the more convinced she grew of the fact that the outside was going to feel like a blizzard once she left the safety of the bathroom.

Raven rinsed her hair products out before snatching up her toothbrush and toothpaste. She loved brushing her teeth in the shower, despite how weird it may seem to any outsider.

After successfully brushing, flossing, and rinsing, Raven's shower was complete. She turned off the hot water while she still had the willpower to do so. She noticed that the skin on her arm was already turning a bright red. The rest of her body was probably doing the same. The cool air outside would take care of that, though.

Raven hurriedly wrapped her fluffy white robe around her and tied her hair up in a turban she made out of an old oversized t-shirts. This was yet another beauty tip by Rogue: "old t-shirts help stop your hair from breaking! My friend's and I used to do it all the time!"

Raven rolled her eyes. She was certain that it was just another one of Rogue's weird Southern mannerisms. Besides, she hypothesized that, due to her healing factor, any damage her hair would go through would be healed instantly. However, she really didn't feel like getting lectured by her best friend if she just so happened to run into her in the hall on her way back to her room.

The black haired mutant slid the shower curtain open and trudged to the exit. She hesitated when she reached the door, however.

Taking a deep breath, she twisted the knob and pushed the wooden barrier open, cringing as the cold air hit her like a ton of bricks. Every shower ended like this, but Raven could never get used to it. If it was up to her, she would just sit in the hot shower all day long.

Of course, she couldn't make it very far to her room without being stopped by a familiar voice and handsome face.

"Why, mon chere, I had no idea you turned into a lobster! I'm gonna need to grab me some butter." Gambit said in a teasing voice. Raven rolled her eyes. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought he was waiting here for her. However, she did know better and knew the Southern gentleman had more class than to wait outside the ladies room in order to harass the women exiting.

Her old friend reached out and took Raven's dripping wet shower caddy from her, inhaling her scent subtly.

"Ah, oranges and vanilla today? Beautiful choice, mon chere." he commented before pulling away "Mind if I escort ya back to your room? I know there's probably a lot of young men 'round here who would be eager to take advantage of a pretty young woman dressed like you are right now."

Raven rolled her eyes yet again and smiled. As if any of the boys around here would even try to do that. She knew most of them still thought she was some freak, and not in the good way. Plus, if that wasn't enough, they knew Wolverine would find out and their asses would be toast.

"So, your big date with Deadpool is tonight." Gambit remarked as they made their way back to Raven's room "Ya excited, chere?"

Raven smirked, trying to keep her true level of excitement hidden, and shrugged.

"Aw, ya don't have to hide it from me." The former thief said, poking Raven in the side jokingly "Ya can be excited if ya want. Just as long as you're just as excited when I take ya out."

Raven raised and eyebrow and gave him a look that read: "And when will that be?"

Gambit smiled and shoved his free hand into the pocket of his overcoat.

"In due time, chere, good things come to those who wait." he replied. Raven snorted silently as her room's door came into view. In theory, she could go out with Gambit today. She really had no plans until Deadpool came to pick her up. So that was a good couple of hours to kill, but Raven just didn't feel right going out with a guy when she had a date with a different one. Even if they were just friends.

Gambit stepped forward and opened Raven's door for her. She smiled and stepped inside.

"Alright, so I'll see ya around?" he asked, hopefully as Raven reached out for her bag. She nodded, not sure exactly when they would; especially with Deadpool coming around every chance he got.

Gambit smiled happily and gave Raven a small kiss on the cheek, causing her to blush slightly.

"I never get tired of that." he smirked, pointing to her reddening cheeks "See ya later, chere."

And with one final friendly smile and wave, Raven shut her big wooden door and let out an irritated sigh. She really didn't need her hormones acting up right now. What she needed was to get dressed.

She immediately put on her favorite pair of grey sweatpants and her black Punisher tank top; which she had made herself after discovering the vigilante over a year ago. It was time to illustrate some comics!

Raven would've squealed with glee, if she could, as she bounded over to her desk and sat herself down in her office chair. She was really excited about this issue. This was the issue which she first meets Deadpool.

Raven flipped through the pages of her unfinished book. It was just like any other book she had made; filled with mostly dark and monotonous colors that were paired with corresponding depressing panels.

However this one was different. This one had a flash of bright red. A shining beacon of hope and joy, the likes of which Raven had never seen before and was impossible to ignore. And as she began to draw the details on the image of herself pinned underneath this light, Raven began to feel her steady heartbeat morph into a million tiny butterflies and an elated smile etched its way onto her usually stoic features.

Yes, she was certain that not many people viewed Deadpool in this kind of light, but its not like that mattered to her anyways. So far, he has proven himself a hero to her and that was all that mattered.

It wasn't until she began coloring the red of her mercenary's costume when her phone began to vibrate violently next to her. The sudden shock almost caused Raven's marker to slide out of the lines, but thankfully she was changing markers so no panels were harmed.

Raven picked up her phone and unlocked it. It turned out she had quite a lot of text messages that she must've been too zoned out to notice. There was a few from Rogue, a couple from Domino, one from Wolverine, and even a couple from Deadpool; but there was one number without a contact name that troubled her. It was a number she wished she could forget with every fiber of her being.

Her dark eyes narrowed as she replied to the message angrily.

"Where I am is of no concern to you, Summers." she typed "Don't contact this number again or else."

After sending that, she replied rather cheerfully to the other messages she had received, her mind never straying too far from the message from her old mentor. Why, after all these years, would Cable want to contact her now? It probably had to be some "dire event from the future" bullcrap he was awfully fond of. Whatever, Raven had her own issues to deal with here, in the present. It was about time he should understand that.

The black haired girl let out some air from her nostrils and pulled her semi-dry hair back into a low ponytail. Yeah, Rogue said to let it dry completely before pulling it up in order to avoid the dent that would form, but dammit all this hair was getting in the way of important comic book making!

Next panel is going to consist of a close-up of Deadpool's smiling face from Raven's point of view. Raven could see the image so clearly in her head it was almost as if she was reliving it over again.

She gleefully drew the curve of his head, the outline of his chin, and his closed white eyes. Her favorite was filling in the black diamond around his eyes. It seemed so fitting that they were black, or perhaps she was putting way too much symbolism into it. But come on, darkness with a bright light in the middle? It pretty much explained itself.

Her phone vibrated incessantly all the while. She rolled her eyes in irritation. If it was Cable again, she would put a trace on the number, find him, and kill him herself.

Raven unlocked her phone angrily, prepared to send a threatening message, but was pleasantly surprised with a picture message from Deadpool.

It was a self shot of him smiling next to his sniper rifle. Somehow he had managed to get his target in view as well. But that didn't interest Raven as much as the fact that his rifle was covered in stickers that the red mercenary probably got while waiting in line at the grocery store.

"Gettin' some extra dough for tonight!" his caption said. Raven smiled and her body shook in what would've been a giggle. His uncanny ability to make her smile still surprised and amazed her.

"That's great" she typed back "Can't wait to blow it all on food and alcohol we can't get drunk on!"

Her smile widened as she relocked her phone, hoping he would find her message as funny as she did. Gosh, she hadn't felt this way since she was in elementary school.

Raven put the ends of one of her markers in her mouth and chewed on it in thought. Who was her first crush, again? It was some kid she met on the playground during the summer. He was a tourist who was visiting from Canada with his military father and his mother. What was his name? Willy? Wilson? Wilbert? She couldn't tell. It began with a 'w' though.

There was a sudden and desperate pounding at the door, making Raven jolt and drop her marker on the floor. She rushed over to her door, fearing it might be an emergency or someone might be in trouble.

When she answered, she discovered Rogue, who was clearly irritated and very frazzled, standing in the doorway with a look of disbelief on her face. Raven raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure what her problem was.

"Don't you give me that look!" the southern girl shouted "Do you have any idea what time it is?!"

Raven shrugged. Rogue sighed irritably and pulled out her phone.

"It is six o' clock! Deadpool's gonna be here in an hour and you don't even have your dress on!" she admonished, showing Raven the screen for proof. Raven's eyes widened in shock. Six already? She hadn't even eaten lunch yet. Man, she really needed to start setting alarms to let her know about feeding times; especially when she got into comic book mode.

Rogue rolled her eyes and pushed herself into Raven's room.

"Alright, alright, don't worry. I'll help ya out. We can still make you look amazing with our limited time schedule." she groaned. Raven smirked and shook her head, shutting the door behind her best friend. She didn't understand why she needed an hour to get ready. All she was doing was putting on a dress and a touch of makeup.

"Ok, so we gotta get you out of those clothes and into this dress. Then we've gotta straighten all that hair cuz I see somebody decided it would be a good idea to put it into a ponytail after a shower!" Rogue listed. Raven shrugged again, pulling her ponytail to the side, and stroking the dark hair lovingly.

"Then we have to moisturize, put on your makeup, make sure your nails are all done, and-"

Raven held up a finger, making her friend stop talking before tapping her wrist knowingly, hoping Rogue would get that she understood the basic concept: a lot of things needed to be done in a short amount of time.

"Alright, you're right." Rogue sighed "No use cryin over spilled milk. Now let's get to it!"

Almost exactly an hour later, Raven stood in front of Rogue for one final inspection. Her dark hair was now completely pin straight and her bangs were swept over to the side and held in place with a Watchmen smiley face barrette. She wore a white, short sleeved button up blouse underneath a blue dress, or at least that what was what Raven called it. She wasn't quite sure what to call it since it was a weird mix between overalls and a skirt. Come to think of it, the only reason it could be considered a dress was because of the straps that held the material on her shoulders and the knee length skirt that flared out only slightly around her pale legs.

Rogue nodded in approval from her place on Raven's bed.

"Mmm, sugar, that dress looks even better on you the second time around." Rogue marveled "Now quick, lemme see your nails."

Raven rolled her eyes and held up her hands. Her nails were no longer black, but instead a classic French manicure. Rogue nodded once again.

"Perfect! Just perfect! Not a chip in sight!" she congratulated herself "I must say, I really outdid myself with ya this time."

Raven smiled and nodded. Despite Rogue's nagging when it came to beauty stuff like this, Raven really was appreciative of her help. She had learned so much about being a woman. It was almost like being a teenager again; except without all the tragic deaths and mercenary training.

"Hey, Raven!" Wolverine's voice echoed up the staircase "Your idiot prince charming is here to pick ya up!"

Rogue squealed in excitement and leapt up off her bed, clapping her hands together happily.

"Oh boy! This is it! Are ya nervous?" she exclaimed. Raven shrugged and looked down at her carpet where her marker still laid. Now that the moment was here, her nerves really started to catch up with her. What if she was too boring for him? What if he didn't like her like that?

Rogue frowned and pulled Raven's face up to meet hers.

"Don't be nervous." she told her dark haired friend "You look fine and you're gonna do fine. He already likes you."

Raven raised her eyebrow. How could she know that? It's not like Rogue and Deadpool had any secret exchanging sessions that she knew about.

"Trust me. I can tell." Rogue assured her "Now, one last dash of perfume and you're good to go!"

Raven smiled and held up her head, exposing her neck. Rogue reached over and snatched some perfume off Raven's windowsill. She sprayed Raven's neck twice and each of her wrists. Raven inhaled the delicious scent of her favorite, and signature, perfume: Daisy by Marc Jacobs.

"Ah! Perfect! Now go on out there and get him, tiger!" Rogue cheered. Raven smiled and hugged her friend, pressing her cheek to hers; not caring if Rogue took some of her power and whatnot. She wanted her friend to truly feel how appreciative she was; plus she knew how much skin on skin contact meant to the fellow mutant.

When she released her from the embrace, Raven felt a bit woozy, but not so bad since she could already feel her healing factor kick in. She smiled one last time at her friend before running excitedly down the hall.

She was thankful Rogue let her wear the red ballet flats she had picked out instead of heels. Despite how awesome she looked in heels, flats were definitely the more casual choice. Plus they made running down the hall to go on her first date ever much more exciting.

"He's waiting for you outside." Wolverine said, as Raven descended her last flight of stairs. Raven nodded and bounded past him. However, she couldn't get very far before she was stopped by his firm grip on her arm.

"You look really nice." he commented "Deadpool really is a lucky guy to have a girl like you like him so much."

Raven smiled fondly at him. She wished she could tell him that she liked him just as much, only in a different way, but that would have to wait until after her surgery.

Raven leaned in and wrapped Wolverine up in a warm embrace. He really had done so much for her and put up with so much of her crap. She really needed to find a way to pay him back somehow.

"I like the red, by the way." he commented upon his release "It's a nice change of pace from all that dark shit you usually wear."

Raven rolled her eyes and planted her now ruby red lips on the side of Wolverine's hairy cheek. The darkness was her thing, at least when she was in X-Man mode...well...she wasn't quite sure if she was an official X-Man, but it made her feel cool.

So with that, she turned and ran out the front door, completely ready to go on her first date.

"Heyyyyyyy, Raven!" Deadpool said, eyeing her up and down "Lookin good."

She blushed. Damn, he looked so cool leaning up against one of the pillars to the mansion. Even if he didn't wear anything special for her, just the fact her was here was enough.

"I would've dressed up, but I had to work overtime at the office." he said, pushing himself off the pillar "But I do know ladies love a man in uniform."

Raven held up a hand to hide her toothy grin. Even if that saying was really meant to be applied towards the men and women in the armed forces, she would agree that it could also be applied to superheroes; .or antiheroes in this case.

Deadpool held out his arm and Raven took it, letting him lead her down the two or three steps onto the main driveway.

"You're chariot, my lady." Deadpool said, bowing and stepping aside to reveal the rusted piece of shit scooter she had fixed up a while ago. Raven raised her eyebrow. She knew it was his scooter and he was full of shit when he lied to her before, but right now she was just trying to put him on the spot.

"Alright, so this thing is my scooter, but Rhino sat on my car a while back and with the economy and whatnot-" he began to explain, but Raven didn't care. She loved scooters and bikes in general. They were way more fun than driving in a car.

She happily skipped over to the red scooter and sat on the back part of it, patting the front part happily. Deadpool grinned and sat down in front of her with the same amount of enthusiasm. He turned the key in the ignition and the rusted red machine rumbled to life.

"I'm glad you like it!" he commented before pointing into the distance "Now to Cony Island! Tallyho!"

Raven almost fell off her scooter. Cony Island was still basically Carnival Island, right? She had never been to that island and hadn't even been to a carnival since she lived in Fenwick. She could hardly contain her joy as she wrapped her arms around Deadpool's waist and set her chin on his shoulder.

"Hold on tight! Since you revamped this hunk of junk, it goes pretty damn fast!" he warned before pulling all the way down on the accelerator, making the scooter squeal off into the sunset.

By the time they parked the scooter, it was just starting to get dark. Darkness wasn't a problem, though. The lights shining from the plethora of rides, games, and concessions were enough to illuminate the whole island on their own.

Raven silently cheered and jumped up and down, clapping her hands excitedly. This definitely wasn't what she was expecting, but it was so Deadpool! Crazy roller coasters of possible death, unhealthy foods galore, and lots of shooting games to exploit for all of their prizes.

_"See? Toldja she would totally love this idea!"_

**_"I believe it was me who suggested this idea first."_**

"Dudes, shut up. You all know it was completely my idea." Deadpool argued back. Raven heard that and her smile grew even wider, if possible. She threw her arms around her date and squeezed tightly.

_"Alright, you win. It was your idea. Hmph."_

_**"Don't be such a baby. After all, she is technically hugging all of us."**_

_("Oh trueeeeeeeee dat!")_

Deadpool grabbed Raven's hand and began to lead her through the crowds of people, weaving in and out nimbly.

"Let's hurry up and get on some rides before these voices have a cat fight over who's really dating you right now." he ordered. Raven blushed as she struggled to keep up. She hadn't been in a crowd this large since she lived in Louisiana. She was thankful for Deadpool's current leadership especially when he shoved a group of indecisive teenagers out of the way.

"Move it or lose it! 'Scuse me! Pardon me! Out of the way, grandpa! Got a super hot mute girl with cancer I might score with someday eventually!" he shouted over the throngs of people. Raven smiled and blushed. They were moving too fast for her to be able to even try to communicate a decent apology, but it's not like she would actually mean it. She was actually happy they were getting into the park before all of these lame people.

"So which ride you wanna go on first, my silent princess?" Deadpool asked. Raven bit her lip and looked around. The roller coaster looked like fun, but then again so did the Inverter. The giant swings were a childhood favorite of hers, but the tilt-a-whirl meant she would be pressed against Deadpool constantly and somewhat against her will.

Her eyes widened when she saw her choice. She pointed at it excitedly in the distance. Deadpool raised his eyebrow.

"You sure you wanna go on that one? I mean," he looked at her dress "It's not the best one for a dress."

Raven raised an eyebrow, as if saying "And you are seriously complaining about that?".

"You're right! What the hell are we waiting for! To the Claw it is!" Deadpool exclaimed, pulling Raven through the crowds once more.

The Claw was almost like the Inverter except they were basically being hung from the ride, instead of sitting down. Also, in addition to being flipped upside-down, they were being spun continuously. Raven could feel the anticipation growing within her as she hopped from side to side.

"You gotta pee or something?" Deadpool asked "Cuz there is no way we're getting out of line now! We're next!"

Raven smiled and nodded. He knew she was just excited, but the Merc with a Mouth was not notorious for making plain Jane comments. Besides, even though she couldn't say it, he knew that Raven loved his smartass comments.

"Next!" the attendant shouted. Raven clapped her hands together and the pair ran past the tired looking attendant and to their places on the ride in the red colored seats, duh!

"Here you go, mon chere." Deadpool said in his best Cajun accent as he pulled down Raven's safety bar "Wouldn't want you to fall and crack that pretty little head of yours all over the pavement."

Raven smirked and rolled her eyes, pulling his safety bar down over him as well.

"Ah, good thinking." her date commented "Nothing worse on a first date than fatal injuries. Although, I'm sure I could probably get a hefty settlement from the following lawsuit."

The ride jolted to a start. Raven could hear all the gears turning and the ride began to spin around.

"Oh, this isn't so bad." Deadpool said "Nice and easy and-"

The ride suddenly began to swing back and forth. Raven began to swing her feet happily as they rose higher and higher into the air.

"Ah! It goes upside-down too!?" Deadpool exclaimed. Raven stared blankly at him. He immediately calmed down.

"Uh, I mean, of course it goes upside-down. Here." he grabbed Raven's hand in his "Hold onto me so you don't get scared."

Raven rolled her eyes. By the looks of it, he was either genuinely scared or just being Deadpool. It's not like the reason mattered, they were holding hands and about to go upside-down. Perfect.

Raven's eyes scanned the crowds for a target and narrowed once they found it: a bleach blonde, orange skinned, large breasted, trailer trash looking woman at the corn dog booth. It was almost too perfect.

As the ride flipped upside-down, Raven gathered all of the spit in her mouth, cocked, and fired at the woman. She smiled with glee as she saw her saliva make a direct hit against the woman's temple. If that was a bullet, her brains would be all over the ground by now. That is, if she had any.

"Damn! That was a hell of a shot! Here let me try." Deadpool pulled up his mask to his nose and gathered spit in his mouth as well. Raven knew he was targeting someone, but who. Was it the lady with a baby? How about the completely bald guy that was obviously on steroids by the fun house?

He unloaded his spit and it soared through the air, landing with a perfect splat right on the face of an obviously wasted clown. Raven's face cracked in a smile as the ride descended downwards, her hair blowing in wisps around her face.

"What? You liked that?" Deadpool asked. Raven nodded furiously, wishing she could at least share a laugh with her date.

_"Man, this girl is perfect! We hit the jackpot!"_

**_"Yeah, now let's try not to blow it like with Domino."_**

The ride swung back and forth, slowing down until it reached a complete stop. As the safety bars unlocked, Raven began to notice the stares she and Deadpool were receiving from other people. They were probably wondering what such a normal looking girl was doing with such a strange looking, costume wearing guy. She didn't care though, but she wondered if Deadpool did; or if he even noticed.

"C'mon, let's go on Satan's Gauntlet! That looks like it'll be a killer!" Deadpool exclaimed, pulling Raven out of her seat and running through the crowds.

A few hours and many rides later, Deadpool and Raven found themselves standing in front of the ride they were inevitably going to go on. Deadpool held an extra large soda in one hand and Raven's hand in the other. In her free hand, Raven held a stick of blue cotton candy.

"So...this is it...the tunnel of loooooooove." Deadpool said, staring up at the blinking red and pink lights while slurping on his soda. Raven nodded, sticking another piece of the sugary treat in her mouth. Her heart pounded rapidly inside her chest. She had seen enough classic movies to know what a ride in the tunnel of love would mean. They'd be bombarded with cheesy generic romance music along with socially acceptable images of love, couples in love, deities of love, and so on while sitting in a boat that probably looked like some kind of swan while riding through a trash filled cesspool through a dimly lit corridor.

However, there would come a point in the ride when everything would slow down to a complete stop and all the lights would be turned down even more. They would turn in their seats and look at each other. They would move closer and closer in until finally their lips met in a sweet kiss.

"You wanna go on it? I bet we could freak out a bunch of teenagers trying to get lucky." he suggested. Raven blinked and nodded, a bit disappointed about why he wanted to go on the ride, but still happy to be going on it with him.

They sat down in the swan boat and numbly listened to the safety precautions about keeping their hands and feet inside of the ride at all times. However, those precautions didn't include keeping any projectiles inside the ride either.

Deadpool giggled evilly as he opened the lid to his now empty soda and held it out to Raven.

"Alright, we'll start with ice and then start making creepy ghost noises later. I'll do the moaning and groaning. You can do the ominous clanging of metal objects." he instructed. Raven nodded, a bit sad, as she took a small handful of ice.

"Hey...what's wrong...don't you want to help reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in America?" her date asked. Raven shrugged and mindlessly threw her ice ahead of her. Deadpool set his cup of ice to the side.

"Don't tell me you actually want to ride this one and not to just to ruin some teenager's gropefest?" he asked. She shrugged again and looked over at the passing romantic scenery. What else did she expect from a mentally unstable guy such as Deadpool? Maybe Rogue, Remy, and Wolverine were right: maybe a relationship with Deadpool would never work.

Deadpool let out a heavy sigh and put an arm around Raven's shoulder. She looked up at him quizzically.

"For this one ride, we won't dick around with anyone." he relented "It'll be just you and me in this tunnel of love."

Raven smiled as she shifted her body to fit more closely with the man sitting next to her. Here in his arms, she felt so safe and happy. It was as if they were both just two normal people on a date, just like the teenagers in front of them.

"Say, if I said you had a nice body...would you hold it against me?" Deadpool asked, breaking out into giggling. Raven smiled as well, pushing herself closer to him.

Everything in the tunnel was just as she imagined. A few cupids here, a few love birds there, and a bunch of differently sized hearts all accompanied by unidentifiable generic romantic music. Everything was just as she predicted, except Deadpool's hand stopped holding hers. It started to roam up her arm and to her cheek.

He gently pulled her face towards his. Her heart pounded with anticipation. This was it. His mask was up just enough to reveal his scarred lips. They were going to kiss, she just knew it. Their lips would meet and the same electricity that was generated between them with their first kiss would be restarted right here and now in this dinky little boat.

"So, I guess this is the part where we suck faces?" Deadpool asked. Raven grinned and touched the side of his face, wishing she could be touching his bare skin instead.

_**"Quit dicking around and just kiss her already!"**_

"Good point." he mumbled before closing the gap between them. Raven let out a sigh of happiness as she pulled him in closer.

_"Dude, think she'll let us get some tongue?"_

_**"We won't know until we try!"**_

Deadpool pinched Raven's side, making her open her mouth in a gasp. It was all the opportunity he needed to slide his tongue in her mouth. They battled for what seemed like an eternity before pulling away with no clear victor. Each of them were panting slightly due to lack of air.

_"Dude...that was..."_

"Unreal." Deadpool finished. That kiss, much like the other, was unlike anything he had ever known. For the first time since he was a kid, he actually felt tipsy. Were liquor filled kisses another one of Raven's powers that nobody knew about?

Raven blushed and pulled some stray hair behind her ear. That kiss was ten times better than the last. If his grooved lips against her smooth ones weren't enough to drive her wild, then his surprisingly smooth tongue caressing every inch of her mouth was.

"So, um, you want me to go win you a bunch of shit you don't need?" he asked. Raven closed her eyes and smiled, nodding her head. He could've suggested robbing a bank and she still probably would've said yes. But what do you expect from a girl who just got a kiss so hot it would make the surface of the sun seem cold?

Later, Raven and Deadpool sat across from each other with nothing but a milkshake and a funnel cake between them. They were drinking the chocolatey ice creamy goodness out of matching candy cane colored straws. Both of them held their chins up by one hand and held each others hand in another. Both had dreamy looks in their eyes.

"Have I ever told you that you're my favorite mute girl?" Deadpool asked. Raven smiled and blushed, halting her sipping for a brief moment to try and keep her chocolate drink from squirting out of her nose.

Deadpool's eyes scanned the surrounding area. So far, tonight was going without a hitch: ride on all the awesome rides, get a smoking hot kiss on the tunnel of love, eat sugary treats, then win Raven a shit ton of stuffed animals. There was just one more thing.

_"Oh! That's it! Let's take her in there!"_

"You sure?" the mercenary asked in a tone only low enough for him to hear.

**_"For once, I have to agree. It really is awesome. Now, hurry up, you dolt! Before a huge line forms!"_**

"Quick!" Deadpool exclaimed, pulling Raven from the table "Come with me! I have the best idea!"

Raven's body shook in a silent giggle as she weaved in and out of people, with her whole armful of her prizes in her free hand.

"Here!" Deadpool shoved Raven into the tiny photo booth "Hurry up and get comfy! These things start shooting right after I give it money!"

Raven smiled again as she scooted over in the small stool so her date could sit down, letting her pile of animals tumble to the floor. Even though the tiny area smelled like vomit, cotton candy, and sweat; Raven couldn't have been happier to be stuck in such a small space with the man who had given her the most perfect night of her life. And now she was going to have pictures to remember it for all eternity.

"Get ready to smile!" Deadpool exclaimed, settling in his seat and wrapping his arms around the black haired girl.

As the camera began to snap shots of the couple, Deadpool and Raven began making funny faces and poses. By the time the camera stopped clicking, their eyes met and their faces were inches apart. Without saying another word, Deadpool entangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her closer; closing the gap between them. Raven kissed back with earnest, seeing the bright flash of the last camera bulb through her closed eyelids.

As the kiss deepened, Raven could feel Deadpool's hands start to roam. She didn't care, though. Everything just felt so right in this moment; as if they fit together like a puzzle that had lost it's piece.

"How about...we take this back to your place..." Deadpool panted, leaning his forehead against hers "I'd take you to mind, but I kinda have a ceiling iss-"

Her lips were back on his before he could finished. Her fingers grasped the fabric of the back of his mask, pulling him close. When they pulled away, Deadpool blinked dumbly.

"So, I'll get the scooter warmed up, then?"

Raven and Deadpool burst into Raven's room, vigorously kissing each other, Deadpool spun Raven around and pinned her against the door, causing it to slam shut. They giggled mischievously as Raven locked the door behind her. It was well beyond two o'clock in the morning, but they were both too distracted to notice.

"Mmmm, baby, your boobs are awesome!" Deadpool moaned into Raven's neck as he massaged her breasts. Raven smiled, and pulled the straps of her dress down; wiggling out of the soft blue material with ease. Deadpool grinned and nimbly unbuttoned her white shirt.

"Damn! Just as nice as I remember!" he commented, his fingers wiggling underneath the white lace material. Raven gasped, clutching at his hands. Deadpool grinned.

"I think I wanna see these glorious titties in the light of the full moon." he nodded over to Raven's now moonlit bed "How about we move this venue to am area with more ideal lighting."

Raven smiled and wrapped her legs around Deadpool's waist, kissing him with everything she had. She wanted to say everything she couldn't through this kiss. She wanted him to understand.

Somehow, Deadpool managed to carry Raven over to the bed without dropping her; even though he did trip over a few of the discarded stuffed animals along the way, and they both fell onto the bed with their lips still locked in place.

Raven looked up at Deadpool lovingly. She wished desperately to see his face; to see all of him. Even if the rest was just as scarred as his lips and chin were.

While he was distracted by trying to get her bra off, she tried to pull his mask up just a bit higher. However, she was stopped by his hands on hers.

"Look, Raven, I really like you and all and I've been having a great time, but I really don't think that'll be a good idea." he said, pulling away from her. Raven furrowed her brow. How did this guy expect to get laid if he wouldn't take off his costume?

"It's just not pretty under there and-" Raven silenced her talkative date with a sweet kiss. He didn't need to explain. She could respect and understand his reasoning without him having to explain it continuously. All she wanted was for him to stay with her and feel just as happy as she did.

"Man, you really are a cool chick." Deadpool commented when she pulled away. Raven shrugged with a fake sense of inflated ego and pulled the blue quilt over them. She curled up next to him, wrapping her arms around him in the same position they were in last time they were in this situation.

Deadpool yawned tiredly and wrapped his arms around his date protectively. Once again, another night with Raven that didn't end in sex. But, for the first time, his reasonings for being with this girl wasn't simply to see her naked or fuck her. For the first time, he wanted her to genuinely be attracted to his appearance. He didn't want her to fake it or just begrudgingly accept it. He wanted her to want him.

Deadpool smirked as Raven's soft breathing indicated to him that she was sleeping. He took one of his gloved hands and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Even though it was hot as hell under that blanket with his costume on, he didn't have the heart to tell her. It was the first time anyone genuinely seemed to care about him. It was such a weird feeling, but something he could get used to.

* * *

_Songs Used:_

_Perfect Day by Hoku_

_Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind_

_Misery Loves Its Company by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus _


	12. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or any of the X-Men. I do own Raven, though!_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Raven woke up the next morning with a large yawn and stretch. She squinted her eyes against the intruding sunlight that invaded her uncovered window. It was still too early to wake up. She reached across the strange red pillow and pulled the blinds down, once again darkening the room.

Smiling with satisfaction, Raven laid her head down on the red pillow. To her surprise, she heard a soothing and steady heartbeat. She groggily looked up to see the scarred chin and snoring lips of Deadpool. It dawned on her that he never left last night.

She smiled happily as she wrapped her arms around him, resting her ear against his chest. The gentle rumbling of his snoring combined with his steady heartbeat created the most relaxing sound, second only to the rolling waves of the beaches in her hometown.

His arms snaked themselves around her waist. Gloved fingers stroked the bare skin lovingly on her lower back.

"Mmmm...Raven..." he murmured. Raven looked up, keeping her ear on his chest. Sleep was creeping up on her again, but she was curious about what he was dreaming about.

His arms tightened around her waist and his fingers dug into her hips in a desperate manner, causing her to wince in pain slightly.

"Don't go." he pleaded "Please...don't go..."

Raven couldn't focus on the pain in her hips when she heard this pleading. She was so used to him be so confident; so sure of everything that he would never shut up. This Deadpool, speaking in an almost childlike voice, seemed so unsure and desperate. What was even stranger is that he seemed desperate for her.

"So beautiful..." he sighed. Raven would've laughed if she could. She knew Deadpool well enough to know that 'beautiful' wasn't on his common list of adjectives to describe women. It made her blush that he would use it in combination with her name.

Eventually, with this thought in mind, Raven drifted back off to sleep; vowing that she would not only stay by his side, but would protect him until her dying breath, which would never happen as far as she could see because of their accursed healing factors.

The next time she woke up, Raven was staring Deadpool dead in the eye. He gave her a michevious wink.

"Morning, hotness, may I say you look rather bangable on this fine morrow." he commented. Raven blushed as she pushed herself off of her red pillow. She noticed her blanket was already around her bottom; which explained Deadpool's magnetic gaze on her breasts. Definitely not the guy she had woken up to this morning, but it was definitely the guy she was falling for.

She smacked the back of Deadpool's head playfully as she pulled the quilt around her exposed body and rolled out of bed.

"Aw! You're no fun!" Deadpool pouted, crossing his legs and arms angrily "What happened to fun stripper girl last night?"

Raven stopped her rummaging for clothes and snatched her sketchbook off the desk. She held her marker up and did a brief calculation of the stuffed prizes on the floor.

"Another striptease will cost you about 50 more of these prizes." she wrote back.

"Ugh! Can't I just pay you money?" he groaned "Some of those games were actually kinda hard."

Raven smiled happily and let the blanket drop, earning a loud whistle and a small applause of approval from Deadpool. She let him watch her as she dressed herself back in her usual black jumpsuit, except she swung her hips more just for him.

Deadpool sat back, with his back against the window, marveling at just how open this girl was being with him. This was the same girl who wouldn't go anywhere without a huge baggy hoodie he had known two months ago. The same girl who he now knew to have a killer body and had seen almost naked at least twice; now being the third time. It was a shame she knew how to change her bra and panties without revealing anything.

As Raven zipped up her jumpsuit, Deadpool noticed Raven's phone buzzing on the nightstand. He reached over and grabbed it. Yeah, it wasn't the most polite thing to do, but that wasn't really his forte now was it?

"Hey, babe, you didn't tell me you knew Cable." he said. Raven immediately leapt over the dozens of stuffed animals with a surprising amount of grace and onto the bed, snatching the phone away from him. Her eyes narrowed at her phone's small screen or, to be more precise, at the name that occupied the message box. If she wanted a trace, she would have to work fast.

Raven reached under her bed and pulled out her laptop. Luckily for her, she didn't shut it completely down after it's last use. She pulled a cord out of nowhere and shoved it into the port of each electronic device.

"Yo, babe, what are you doing?" Deadpool asked. Raven ignored him, her fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard. Her tracing program had immediately popped up upon the introduction of the cellular device. Her dark eyes darted around the screen, searching desperately for the dot that would indicate Cable's whereabouts. It wouldn't be easy, especially if he was in the middle of time traveling. Stupid time manipulating bastard.

Suddenly, the dot froze on a spot. Raven zoomed in quickly until she could see the general area it was in. From the looks of it, Cable was in Virginia; somewhere near Randolph.

"Dude, is that Cable?" Deadpool asked. Raven nodded, her brain working on her plan to sneak out and get there before he zoomed off into a different time zone. However, no matter which way she spun it, there would be no way she could make it there in time, unless she flew the Blackbird; which of course she had no idea how to do.

Her eyes narrowed. You win this time, Cable.

She jerked the cord out of the computer before Cable could retrace the phone to her current location. She knew he wanted to know where she was, but there was no way she would let him know. She was happy now, sort of, she didn't need him coming back into her life and fucking it all up.

"Um, what the hell was that all about?" Deadpool asked as the dot on the map faded away. Raven rolled her eyes, then rolled up his mask before delivering a smoldering kiss onto his scarred lips.

When she pulled back, the mercenary blinked dumbly at her, with no memory of what he was even talking about before.

"Pancakes?" she wrote down on her sketchbook. He nodded, clapping his hands like an excited child.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" he exclaimed "Can you make them chocolate chip this time? I need a bit more sweetness to get my day started."

He winked at her and she rolled her eyes. Of course she would, she would do anything for the crazy mercenary.

Before she could walk out, Deadpool stopped her with an incredibly loud and fake cough. She turned around and raised her eyebrow.

He remained with his butt firmly planted on her bed, his mask up to his nose.

"That's not the kind of sweetness I was talking about, sweetness." he stated, pointing at his scarred lips expectantly. Raven rolled her eyes and crossed the distance between them to press her lips softly against his. Chills ran down her spine as the same electricity passed from his lips to hers and vice versa.

"Mmmm dats some kinda kiss ya got there." Deadpool cooed in a fake Southern accent. She smiled happily and rolled down his mask, wishing she could reply with some witty comment in a fake Southern accent of her own.

Instead, she took his hand in hers and led him out of her room and to the kitchen.

Later, Deadpool and Raven laid in the grass on the quad staring up at the clouds that passed overhead and guessing what they looked like. Turns out, they both had very active imaginations, which earned them strange looks from many a passerby.

"Still see ya got your head in the clouds, chere." a sweet Cajun voice stated. Raven looked up, blocking the sun with her sketchbook, to see Gambit staring down at her with his hands in his pockets. Raven smiled and patted the unoccupied grass to her left, indicating for him to sit. Deadpool's eyes narrowed at the Cajun.

Deadpool wasn't the kind to share anything; be it food, weapons,and especially women. Especially women who made him feel needed, and not just to do a job they didn't want to do themselves or for a shameful one night stand.

However, instead of telling Gambit to fuck off, he caught the smile on Raven's face as she looked at her long-time friend. As far as he, or anyone else knew, this was the only long term friend she had. Also, he would be blind not to see the obvious chemistry between them. He just wished she would look at him the same way.

**_"I think this is where being the bigger man comes in."_**

_"And let this stupid swamp rat steal our girl? No way!"_

**_"Ugh! For once, think of someone else! I mean, look at her! Look how happy she is!_**

_"Yeah,__ but she was like ten times that happy with us last night!"_

**_"Look, we can't just smother her, ok? That's what happened with Domino, don't you remember? We were constantly together straight from the get go and everything just fell apart! Give her some space to decide for herself."_**

_"Aw, I hate being responsible and stuff! But if it means we can keep Raven then I guess it's not all bad."_

"Alright guys." Deadpool said, standing up "Hate to eat and run, but somebody's gotta bring home the bacon."

Raven's head snapped over to her crush. She didn't want him to go. She grabbed his pant leg, halting his movements, while scribbling something down on her sketchpad.; not wanting to come off as too clingy, but wanting him to know he was still her primary interest.

"Text me, ok?" her note read. Deadpool smiled sadly and nodded.

"Course I will, now let go of me. I ain't gettin any younger."

She shook in a silent giggle and released his pants, watching him as he wandered off towards the garage where his scooter was kept.

"Alright, chere, now that he's gone." Gambit said, scooting over towards his silent companion "How about you and I spend the day together in the city?"

Raven smiled and nodded. Certainly, spending such a nice day with such a nice guy would get rid of her "missing Deadpool" blues.

Sure enough, she managed to spend the entire day with Gambit without thinking about Deadpool too much. Somehow, out of the entire city, Gambit managed to find a Cajun restaurant that served a pretty good gumbo.

Currently, they were in the rec room of the X-Mansion watching crappy horror movies on the Sci-Fi channel. Gambit had one arm wrapped protectively around the shoulder of Raven.

"I still can't believe you like this garbage." Remy commented, cringing as a poorly animated shark killed yet another coed. Raven rolled her eyes. She didn't find these films to be cinematic masterpieces, they just made her happy.

Remy groaned and turned off the tv, earning a glare from Raven.

"Now, chere, don't get so sour with me. I got something for us to do that you'll love." he said, standing up. Raven stared up at him, debating on just simply turning the tv back on.

Remy held out his hand to her in a gentlemanly manner.

"C'mon, chere, I bet ya one hundred dollars that you're gonna love it." he challenged her. Raven smirked. Everything really was some kind of gamble with this man. Determined to prove him wrong, and make herself one hundred dollars richer.

As he led her through the now empty halls of the X-Mansion, Raven let her mind wander back to Deadpool. She hadn't checked her phone since he left and was wondering if he had texted her or even if he was a bit worried that she hadn't texted him back.

Her thoughts left her when the sudden scent of chlorine practically smacked the dark haired mute like a ton of bricks.

"Ya still like to swim, dontcha, chere?" Gambit asked, shutting the door stealthily behind them. Raven nodded as she wandered near the edge of the clear blue water. The underwater lights danced across her pale face as she touched the surface of the water gingerly with the tips of her fingers.

She felt Gambit kneel down next to her and he, too, dipped his fingertips in the water.

"Mmmm, feels nice, don't it, chere?" he asked "Let's say you and I go for a swim?"

Raven looked at him, immediately regretting doing so. The light from the pool made him look almost ten times more handsome. The effect was especially strong on his devilish eyes. She could just imagine how it would look on his naked chest and his wet hair. If her memory served her correctly, he looked fantastic wet and shirtless.

"Ya don't even need a bathing suit." he continued "Just you and I all alone here in our underwear. Besides, it's nothin I ain't seen before."

He gave her a wink and she blushed. He had seen her in her underwear before, it was true. This wasn't the first time they had engaged in a spontaneous swim.

She stood up and walked over into the dark corner of the area. She unceremoniously stripped out of her jumpsuit. She could hear Gambit doing the same. She could also hear him toss his clothes next to her.

Raven waited for him to cannon ball into the empty pool before stepping out of the shadows.

"Ah, mon chere, I must've drowned and went to heaven." he said upon surfacing. Raven waved his compliment off and slid into the pool as well. All she was wearing were black boy shorts and a solid black bra, nothing too fancy. Besides, she could say the same thing about him and his amazing body.

She surfaced and swam into the middle of the pool on her back, staring at the ceiling and imagining she could see the moon and the stars. She inhaled deeply and let herself sink back into the water.

Everything was silent there, just like her. It was dark just like her too, since she couldn't open her eyes underwater. She loved the feeling of her hair floating around her. She loved feeling completely at peace.

Except...wait...what was that? Was that a doctor? She thought she was in the pool at the X-Mansion, not in the cooling tank of the Project X headquarters. He had a long needle in his hand full of a strange fluid.

Raven felt her heart race as the doctor grew closer and closer. She didn't want anymore needles. She didn't want to feel anymore pain. She just wanted it all to stop.

She shot up out of the water, sputtering and gasping for air desperately. Almost immediately, Gambit had her in his arms, shaking her to snap her out of her delusion.

"Gwen! Gwen! Gwendolyn! Calm down, chere, I'm here! I won't let anything bad happen to you." he said. By now, tears rolled out of Raven's dark eyes and Gambit pulled her into a loving embrace.

"Shhhh, chere. Shhhh." the Cajun cooed. Raven managed to get her breathing under control and regain her grasp on reality. There was no doctor, no needle, no strange fluid; only Gambit.

She pulled away, giving Gambit an embarrassed smile. This wasn't the first time she had a flashback with him. He knew all about it.

"You alright, chere?" he asked. Raven nodded and splashed Gambit playfully for extra reassurance. He laughed heartily and splashed her back. She tried to dunk him under the water, but failed due to his superior strength.

"Aw, ya gone and done it now!" he taunted her, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her as high as he could into the air. He tossed her across the pool where she landed with a splash a few feet away.

When they were finished swimming, Gambit escorted Raven back to her room. They moved quickly so they wouldn't soak the carpet. Her body shook in silent laughter, while his quaked with effort to keep his laughter down as much as possible.

"Just like old times, right chere?" the southerner asked when they reached the door to Raven's room. She nodded, one hand on the door handle. It reminded her of that one time they snuck into that five star restaurant back in Louisiana. They came so close to kissing that night, but a random security guard came in and broke it up really quickly.

"Also, by the looks of it, you owe me one hundred dollars, mon chere." he added with a cocky wink. Raven rolled her eyes. She would pay him back tomorrow because, if she learned anything from the gambling mutant, it was to never leave any loose ends.

"I had fun tonight, Remy, thank you." she mouthed. He bowed his head to her.

"Not a problem, chere." he replied "You deserve a few nights of fun after everything you've been through."

She rolled her eyes again and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. She was too tired to debate about what she really deserved. Besides, she wanted to talk to Deadpool for at least a little bit before falling asleep.

They said their goodnights and parted ways.

Raven excitedly rushed over to her bed and flopped down onto it with the excitement of a young teenager in love. She snatched up her phone and unlocked the screen to find...

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a text message or missed call from anyone. Raven's excitement immediately turned into sadness and disappointment. After such a great night and decent morning, why wouldn't he text her like he said he was? Maybe something happened, after all he was a mercenary, shit happened to stuff as fragile as a cell phone all the time.

She sighed and curled underneath her bed. It would be difficult to go to sleep without any contact from Deadpool, but at least she had her happy memories with Gambit to fall back on as she fell asleep


	13. Chapter 13

_Wow, you guys sure are demanding. Hahaha, it's alright though, I am eager to provide._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or any of the X-Men. I do own Raven! Enjoy!_

* * *

Well, today is the day. At around noon, Raven would be put under and her throat would be cut open. She had imagined it to look something like the neck of a Terminator and had wanted to ask the doctors to take a picture, but didn't ask because she wanted to make sure that her time in a hospital of any kind would be a kept to a minimum.

She sat up in bed, groggily, and checked her phone for messages. There were a few from Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, and Domino; but none from Deadpool. Was he even going to show up today? He did say he would.

Raven frowned and shook her head, sliding out of bed feeling as if her heart was tying itself into knots. Was this another Cable? Yet another man who swore to be there for her through thick and thin, but only when it was convenient for him?

She shrugged those thoughts off. It was way to early in whatever relationship she shared with the disfigured mercenary to be holding such things too close to heart. Besides, he was mentally unstable...he was bound to be really unpredictable.

Raven grabbed her shower caddy, towel, and robe out of her closet; wondering if that level of sporadic activity was something she could handle for the future.

She sighed heavily as she padded down the hall towards the bathroom. Even if he wasn't there, this surgery would be happening. She couldn't stand another moment of being silent, especially knowing that it could be remedied with the skilled hand of a professional.

As Raven showered, she pushed all the positives up to the front of her head. Gambit and Rogue already said they were gonna be there. Wolverine said he might be able to show up, except he had a meeting with the board of directors at around the same time as the surgery.

"Hey, so didja guys hear that that Deadpool guy and that creepy Raven girl are like totally an item now?" a bubbly valley girl voice chimed through the once almost empty bathroom.

"Yeah! But I like totally feel sorry for the poor girl." another almost identical sounding voice added "I mean, like, he's only with her cuz she looks just like his ex Domino."

Raven's heart sank. She had no idea Deadpool and Domino were a thing. Not even when Domino was helping her pick out her first date outfit. She felt betrayed, angry, but mostly sad. It did all make sense, in a way. She and Domino were pretty similar looking in appearance, except Raven was a few inches shorter and clearly had longer hair. It all sounded a bit too cruel to be Deadpool, but then again did she really know him after two months?

She waited for the slam of the bathroom door before turning off the shower. Maybe it was a good thing that he had distanced himself from her so quickly. Maybe it was a good thing that Gambit had traveled all the way up from Louisiana just to be there for her. It didn't hurt that he was turning up the charm. Realistically, he was better suited for her than Deadpool. He had the charm, the looks, plenty of means, and even an awesome accent. Plus, they had such a history together. I mean, he already knew all about her: her past, her involvement with Project X, and even her involvement in the Mutant Massacre (something which he was also involved in and therefore had no problem accepting her for that, even if her involvement was against her will).

Raven wrapped herself up in her robe and towel. She stepped out of the warm shower and shuffled as quickly as she could out of there.

After she zipped up her jumpsuit and applied her makeup, Raven picked up her phone and checked her text messages.

Still nothing from Deadpool, which added a needle like feeling to her heart. But, she knew better than to dwell on his sudden lack of contact. So, instead of making a couple platefuls of tacos and watching Dexter all day, she decided to pick up her phone and text Gambit, who seemed like the logical choice of person to hang out with since he was the closest to her and traveled the furthest distance to be there for her.

"Remy," she typed "Surgery nerves are starting to get to me. :/ help?"

She sat on her bed for a few more minutes, staring out the window and drumming her fingernails on the sill. Through the passing groups of students, Raven thought she saw a rusted scooter or a masked man in a red jumpsuit. However, upon further focus, she could see these were both delusions.

Her phone vibrated next to her and she answered it.

"Of course, chere. Be over in a minute. ;)" Remy replied. Raven also noticed that Deadpool had decided to text her as well.

"Hey." was all he decided to say. Her eyes narrowed. That was not the message she was expecting from someone who promised to text her the day before or on the day of her first big surgery.

Raven locked her phone back up without replying to Deadpool. If Deadpool really cared at all, he would show up before her surgery today.

There was a polite knock at the door and Raven knew it was Gambit, prompt as always.

She excitedly got out of bed and answered the door, smiling happily when she saw Remy LeBeau standing there with a small pot of Bleeding Hearts and a heart shaped box of chocolates.

"Hey, chere, whatcha say we go out for a walk in the park to get rid of those nerves?" he asked.

Deadpool snapped a picture of his most recent contract and sent it to his contractor. What was this like the tenth contract in a row that went off without a hitch? He must've accidentally eaten a lucky rabbits foot in that burrito he picked up from a questionable looking roach coach in Hell's Kitchen.

_"I can't believe Raven still hasn't texted us! Seriously, what the hell?!"_

**_"She's probably with that swamp rat."_**

"Stupid Cajun gentlemanly asshole." Deadpool mumbled as he waited for a confirmation text from his contractor. When he received it, he deleted his contact angrily and stared at his list of contacts ruefully.

Deadpool could count the number of permanent contacts in one hand. Well, actually two since Raven was added as the sixth contact and probably the one he talked to the most as of recently.

He scrolled his cursor down until her name was highlighted. Just last night upon his return home, Deadpool had added a little heart next to his new crush's name.

_"Ugh! Crush is so lame! We're men! Shouldn't we say something more mature?!"_

_**"Like what? Our love?"**_

_"Ah! Not that! Too much commitment!"_

"Fuck, you guys are putting waaaaay too much thought into this!" Deadpool said as he walked back to where he had parked his scooter "Raven's just Raven."

_"Liar! You know you want her to be your girl!"_

Deadpool giggled happily to himself. Of course he did; Raven's hot, a great cook, and just a really awesome person to just hang out with. Also, she was one of the very very VERY few people who actually understood him and his mental instability.

**_"Speaking of which...isn't her first surgery today at 2?"_**

_"Oh yeahhhh...what time is it now?"_

Deadpool pulled out his phone and unlocked it, his face falling at what he read.

"Shit." he cursed, revving up his scooter.

Raven laid on her hospital bed once again dressed in a paper thin hospital gown, only this time Gambit had taken the time and effort to gather a bunch of blankets to lay down on her.

The red eyed Louisiana devil sat next to her, holding her hand reassuringly in his, and stroking it carefully as if it would disintegrate if he stroked too hard. If an outsider walked in, they would probably think they were together. Logically, they should be together. However, for some reason, that wasn't the case.

The door to her room burst open rather suddenly and a masked man in a red jumpsuit entered, panting and smelling horribly of body odor and blood. Raven wanted to be mad at him, but couldn't muster up the fury as she smiled warmly at his arrival.

"Hey, Raven." he panted, nodding to Gambit out of courtesy "I toldja I'd be here. And look."

He pulled out a very sad, almost dead looking bouquet of what Raven presumed to be peonies and shoved them in her cup of water.

"I got you these. They're penis flowers or some shit." he explained "The lady behind the counter said they're supposed to mean good health or something."

Raven smiled and touched one of the flowers gingerly, causing one of the petals to fall off. She blushed and retracted her hand, for fear that she would completely annihilate what remained of the sad looking bouquet.

"Cuttin' it pretty close, ain't ya, Deadman?" Gambit taunted, releasing Raven's hand. Deadpool rolled his eyes and sat on the corner of Raven's bed.

"Better late than never, I like to say." the mercenary replied, lifting his mask only to give Raven a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Um, if I'm not interrupting anything, we need to take Raven back for surgery." a blue skinned nurse intruded.

Much later, Raven woke up with her head spinning. It took so much effort to open her eyes even a little, but from what she could see, she was back in her recovery room. Everything was so blurry, though.

"Doctor, she's waking up." a female voice that she assumed to be a nurse said.

"Great, go ahead and let her friends in." he replied before mumbling under his breath "I wish everyone I operated on had a healing factor...so much stress just disappears."

Raven smirked as her previously mentioned healing factor quickly dissipated the effects of the anesthesia and immediately made the room clearer. She sat up and stretched, rubbing her throat.

Instead of feeling any stitches, like she expected to, she felt nothing, but smooth skin once again. However, for some reason, she felt as if a little weight was lifted from her throat.

"The operation was a complete success." she could hear the doctor explain to her friends from the other side of the door "Due to her healing factor, we pretty much had to continuously pump anesthesia into her, though."

"That doesn't sound too safe." Rogue said rather doubtfully.

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" the doctor replied. Raven smiled, loving this doctor already.

"Alright, alright, outta the way, egghead. Lemme see my dark princess."

Raven's body shook and she was surprised to feel her throat vibrate in a ghost of a giggle. Just feeling that filled her with so much hope and joy that she felt like she was going float away.

"Heyyyyyyy, sleeping beauty! Looking good!" Deadpool shouted, giving Raven a swift kiss on the cheek before plopping his ass on the side of her bed "You feelin good?"

Raven nodded furiously, touching the spot where she felt the strange lightness. She reached out, grabbed his hand, and placed it on the same spot.

"Can you feel it?" she tried to say. She could feel the vibrations of her chords struggling to make a sound. She could see Deadpool's eyes widen and he pulled his hand away.

"Whoa! Not too sure what that was supposed to be, but it was a sound right?!" Deadpool exclaimed. She nodded, gleefully smiling.

"Alright! Alright, Deadpool, quit hoggin her!" Rogue shouted, entering the room with a huge fluffy pink dog in one arm and a giant heart shaped balloon in the other "We wanna see how she is too!"

Raven smiled and waved each of her friends in; all of whom were carrying their own gifts for her. As the room continued to fill with people and gifts, Raven's smile grew bigger and bigger. Never since her childhood had anyone treated her with such kindness or shown her so much love. She owed them so much.

Raven reached over and grabbed Deadpool's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. He looked at her and smiled, saying something that didn't really register to her. She just wanted to capture everything in this moment: especially the overwhelming and extremely foreign sense of hope she had. Her life didn't have to consist of darkness anymore. Maybe juuuuuust maybe she was meant to walk in the light once more.


	14. Chapter 14

_Ha! I updated before any of you could demand more from me! BAM!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool or any of the X-Men. I do own Raven! Enjoy!_

* * *

Day two of surgery week started with two male voices arguing loudly on the other side of Raven's closed door. She rolled over and buried her face under her pillow, trying to drown out the noise. There was no way her surgery was this early; not a chance. Besides, didn't the doctor say she needed her rest?

"It's no fair!" she heard Deadpool's voice whine "You had her like alllllll day yesterday!"

"This ain't a damn custody battle, Pizza face!" Gambit argued back "Now scram!"

Raven rolled her eyes, feeling a little bit like Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind. She always hated Scarlett O'Hara. Raven clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to fall back into a dead sleep.

"But it's my tuuuuuurn!" Deadpool countered. His whining was followed by a whole mess of jostling and one loud bang on the door, which jolted Raven completely awake. She sat up in bed, her eyes narrowed dangerously at the wooden barrier and those lurking behind it.

The black haired girl flung the covers off of her and stomped towards the door, trampling on innocent stuffed animals, fallen markers, and discarded clothes in her wake. Out of all people to be fighting in front of her door, she would've thought that these two would've known not to be having their rivalry when they both knew how precious sleep was to her.

Raven grabbed the door handle, turned it, and opened it in one swift motion.

Sure enough Deadpool and Gambit were in each others faces with fists raised. Gambit even had one of his explosive cards all charged and ready to go. Deadpool had one hand on a grenade and one on a katana.

Raven's eyebrow twitched. Seriously? Explosives? Right in front of her door at nine thirty in the morning? Talk about your modern day Scarlett O'Hara. Michael Bay would be so proud.

"Oh, hey, Raven." Gambit said, noticing her presence and immediately withdrawing his card "Ain't ya lookin so fine on this mornin."

Raven looked down quickly at her current attire: long grey sweatpants and an oversized Dr. Pepper t-shirt. Not exactly what you would call a Folger's morning commercial ready outfit. Also, she was certain that her bun was a mess and her dark hair stuck up in every direction known to both man and beast. Looking fine her left ass cheek.

"Yeah! I've never seen anyone look so hot with sandman crusties in her eyes." Deadpool chimed in. Raven immediately rubbed her eyes. Hey, at least he was a bit more honest than the Cajun.

When she lowered her hands, she glared daggers at each of them.

"So, I was thinkin' you and I could go to dat little romantic cafe ya had your eye on last time we went out, mon chere." Gambit suggested eagerly. Deadpool frowned and shoved Gambit out of the way.

"Dude, that's so gay." he said, turning his attention to Raven "How's about you and I go down to the rec room and make some new characters on Saint's Row with really big titties?"

Both of their suggestions sounded just like the adults from Charlie Brown to her. She blinked tiredly and promptly shut the door on both of their faces.

"Alright...I'll stop by when you're ready, then." Deadpool said. Raven flicked the lock to her door shut and trudged back over to her bed.

To be honest, both of those suggestions sounded fantastic, but Raven was just way too tired. The combined stress of surgery and just plain worrying about what else her voice will bring just made Raven want to sleep it all away. Odd, sleep usually came with nightmares, but ever since Deadpool came along and changed her whole perspective on things, all her dreams consisted of various versions of Deadpool being some sort of hero.

The dream she had been rudely awakened from consisted of Deadpool sporting Fabio-esque hair and kissing her passionately on the deck of a pirate ship during a terrible storm. She believed his words were "we may not be able to see where our ship is going, but our love will show us the way". Cheesy, yes. Enough to make her smile, of course.

Raven grinned happily as she burrowed back underneath her blankets and sunk back into oblivion.

"Raven, we only have fifteen minutes before earth is completely obliterated by space chimps." Deadpool said, holding Raven's face in one of his large hands. She grabbed his other hand in hers and held it close to her chest. Explosions and screaming chimps rang out through the area as the couple huddle close together under their refuge made of rubble.

"I'm so scared, Deadpool!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms "I don't want to be a slave to some monkey!"

Deadpool pulled her away just far enough to look her in the eyes. Not only had both of their costumes been practically torn to shreds, but his mask had been torn just enough to reveal his scarred lips and nose.

"Then don't be some monkey slave." he said, stroking some black hair out of her face "Be my..."

She leaned in expectantly.

"Be my girlfriend." he finished, claiming her lips with his. She closed her eyes and kissed him back with earnest. All around them, everything was turning into flaming hot monkey shit, but inside their rubble home, none of that seemed to phase them. It was just the two of them.

However, just as things were starting to get interesting, Raven suddenly smelled blood and tacos.

She blinked her eyes awake just in time to see Deadpool laying down next to her with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Space chimps?" he giggled, "Just what the hell were you smoking before you fell asleep?"

Raven, significantly more rested, smiled back and smacked him across the face with her pillow.

"Ah! My face! My beautiful face! Now I'll never be able to be Miss Canada!" Deadpool exclaimed, holding his masked face in mock pain. Raven rolled her eyes and sat up, stretching.

"Just kidding." Deadpool winked "Don't think I didn't notice you mouth my name and make out with your pillow."

Raven flushed a deep red and kicked Deadpool completely off her bed. She really didn't care how he got in her room, but he had heard too much and for that he must pay.

She leapt off the bed and straddled him, pinning his hands above his head. He pretended to struggle beneath her, as if she was actually stronger than him. She used her free hand to pull up his mask.

"No! Don't do it! We can work something out, I swear!" he pleaded. Raven smiled and gathered as much spit in her mouth as she could. Deadpool's eyes widened and he quickly acted by wrapping his legs around Raven's hips. He pushed and rolled her over so he was on top and she was pinned beneath him.

"Now, what was it you were gonna do?" he asked, his eyebrow raised. Raven swallowed all of her spit, giving her captor her best innocent look.

He wasn't buying it, though.

"Aw, no, you're cuteness isn't gonna work on me, doll face." he said, rolling his mask up to his nose. Raven squirmed and writhed beneath him. Her movements, probably didn't intend to be arousing, but were about a few more seconds away from giving Deadpool the most obvious tentpole ever.

He leaned down and pressed his cancerous lips on hers, smiling happily as her struggling ceased.

Before he could pull away, Raven pulled her arms out of his and wrapped them around the back of his head, pulling him closer.

_"Oh yeah! This is so sweet! Touch her boob! You know she loves it!"_

Deadpool obliged the voice in his head, grabbing one of Raven's breasts in one hand, and wrapping his other arm around her waist. She gasped and of course he stuck his tongue in her mouth. She moved her tongue along with his, clumsily at first, but soon with amazing skill; almost as if she knew where he would move it before he moved.

**_"Mmmmm, she's really getting better at this whole kissing thing, isn't she?"_**

_"Maybe we can sneak a quickie before her next surgery!"_

**_"Which is in like twenty minutes!"_**

_"That's plenty of time if you ask me!"_

_** "Ugh."**_

"Ahem!" an obviously fake and irritated Southern woman cough alerted them of a presence. The couple looked up to see Remy and Rogue standing in the doorway.

"If I'm not interrupting anything." Rogue said, her hands on her hips "It's time to get to surgery now."

"Well, you are interrupting something sooooooo...bye bye." Deadpool replied, reaching out to try and shut the door. Gambit reached out and stopped the door from shutting on them. Rogue rolled her eyes, walked over and grabbed Deadpool by the scruff of his neck.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, lover boy. Now let's get goin." she scolded him, pulling the mercenary off the dark haired girl.

"Hey! She started it!" he yelled "Go ahead, ask her!"

Gambit reached out and helped Raven up, who shrugged innocently at Deadpool's accusation. His eyes narrowed.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that."

Raven didn't get back to her room until about midnight that night after yet another quarter of her metal collar had been removed. Since there were so many wires and junk in there, it was easier to remove the technology in pieces. Then, they would send it off to Stark Industries to be analyzed and returned with a full report about what the device was capable of. Simple, right?

Raven groaned, which was pretty much as far as her vocal capacity went; and even that was barely above human hearing level, as Deadpool laid her down on the bed. They had to use a significantly larger amount of anesthetic on her than the previous time since it appeared that her body had developed a tolerance for it.

"Damn, girl, you gotta lay off the tacos for a bit." he joked, pretendning as if her weight actually mattered to him. Raven rolled her eyes and pulled her blankets around her shoulders. She was still tired and, strangely enough, her throat was extremely sore. The doctor assured her it would go away soon, but until then it would feel like someone had just been strangling her with spiky gloves.

"So, um, you gonna be alright tonight?" he asked. Raven rolled over to face him and nodded. Rogue had taken to sleeping with her phone on full volume since her surgery marathon started. Plus, Wolverine's room was at the end of the hall.

He seemed unsure of her answer and she raised a dark eyebrow as if to suggest "Are you going to be alright?"

The mercenary shrugged and kicked one of her many stuffed animals under the bed. Raven yawned, struggling to stay awake.

"I dunno...I mean...for some reason...I really...don't like it that you're hurting." he managed to say "I guess, I would feel better if someone was like actually in here to keep an eye on you, ya know?"

Raven smirked and nodded. She reached over and grabbed her notebook and marker from her desk.

"And who would you suggest?" she scribbled down. Deadpool laughed and jumped on Raven's bed, crawling underneath the covers with the dark haired beauty.

"Me, of course! Who else?!" he exclaimed before winking "And besides..." he leaned in right next to her ear "I know you want me."

Raven felt her face heat up and just as she was about to reply, she felt her lungs tighten. Deadpool could tell what would happen next, too.

Sure enough, Raven began coughing mercilessly into her closed pale fist. Deadpool rolled his eyes and removed her sketchbook and marker from her, placing them back on the nightstand.

"I can't imagine what's worse." he mumbled as he pulled Raven into his chest, patting her back reassuringly "Having a face like mine or a cough like yours."

Raven managed to smile as she continued to cough. This attack, thanks to her already sore throat, felt much worse than usual. She was really glad she didn't have to deal with it alone.

"Don't worry, Raven." he told her as her coughs began to subside "I'm here for you, ok? I'll be your dingleberry or whatever."

She smiled and looked up at him groggily. He leaned his head down in return and kissed her lips until her head fell back in limp sleep.

_**"Wow...this feels so..."**_

_"Normal?"_

**_"Yeah. It's weird, right?"_**

_"Yeah! Normal really isn't our thing."_

_**"Well maybe it can be."**_

Deadpool felt his lips turn up in a smile. Ever since his horrible disfigurement and the removal of his memories, he had given up any hope of having a normal life. True, Raven wasn't your normal chick and he was in no means your average dude; but maybe when you put the two together they could make a whole new brand of normal.


	15. Chapter 15

_ Yahoo! Midnight posting! I just got some sudden burst of inspiration and wrote this chapter and couldn't wait to post it so yay!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or any movies (or anything else) that are referenced. I do own Raven though! Enjoy!_

* * *

Well, today was the day: the end of the surgery marathon. Raven woke up and stretched, rubbing her throat absentmindedly. She could hardly wait; this was gonna be the best Friday ever.

She checked her phone for messages. Of course, Deadpool was the first four messages on the list. Ever since his close encounter with Gambit a few days ago, he had taken to reserving his time with Raven way ahead of time.

"Morning, sweetcheeks. I'm stopping by that cafe you like so much. Want me to grab you anything?" his first message read. Raven rolled her eyes and laughed, if you could call it that. Actually, it sounded very much like an old dog's cough; something which Deadpool tormented her about without mercy.

Back to the subject: Raven couldn't eat if she wanted to; which she did because she hadn't eaten in five days due to her surgery requirements. Her healing factor would've prevented her from choking on her own vomit and dying, but it wouldn't be very pleasant for the surgeons.

"Ok, I'm here and the line is huge. What do you want? And hurry up, cuz this line is driving me bananas and I might have to kill everyone." the next read. She rolled her eyes and moved on to the next one.

"At the front of the line and ppl aren't dead. What do ya want?"

"Fuck it. You're getting what I'm getting."

Raven laughed again and got out of bed. From the sound of it, Deadpool was on his way and would be here shortly. She didn't have much time to dilly dally before her mercenary would be here. In her previous experience, if she didn't get ready before he showed up, she would be forced by him to sing the chorus of Spongebob while he sung the verses.

She didn't bother getting in her jumpsuit, since she would just be getting changed into her hospital gown. Instead, she just slid on some blue sweatpants and a white tank top.

As soon as she pulled the white fabric over her head, she heard her door open and the sweet smell of croissants and coffee flooded her senses.

"Raaaaaaaveyyyyyyy, I'm hoooooome!" Deadpool called as he opened the door. Raven turned and greeted him with a warm smile. He was the only one who was permitted to enter her room without knocking.

Deadpool crossed the space between them and planted a soft kiss on Raven's cheek. Even though it was through his mask, it still felt nice.

"I got you that weird French bagel thingy and I don't know how you like your coffee, but I made it like how I make mine." he told her, upon pulling away. She nodded thank you and took her food. Hell, it had been way too long since she had eaten. The doctors could handle a little bit of vomit, should it come back up in surgery.

"Thank you, Deadpool." she said, hoarsely. Shit, everything she said nowadays, in case you didn't pick up on it by now, was hoarsely. Hopefully that would all change today, though.

He chuckled and lounged on her bed. Her voice, although hoarse, was so sexy. Kinda like what happens to a girl's voice when she's sick.

She sipped some of the coffee, cringing at how sweet it was. It was basically just cream and sugar with a tiny hint of coffee.

She feigned a smile as she forced the sugary monstrosity of a drink down her throat, just so she could keep that adorable smile Deadpool had plastered on his face.

"Hey, Deadpool." she started, setting the cup of creamy sugar on her nightstand "I was wondering..."

"Yes, my dark beauty?" he asked, rolling onto his stomach and kicking his feet like a teenage girl. Raven smirked and kicked an upturned corner of her rug down. She had been so patient, but she was beginning to grow restless. She and Deadpool had been through so much together, but they didn't even know each other's name. Hell, she didn't even know what he looked like.

"Um, I was wondering if-"

"Hey, chere, ya ready for your last surgery?" Gambit interrupted from the open doorway. Raven sighed and nodded, choosing to let the issue drop.

"Yeah, Remy, just let me finish my croissant." she replied, popping some of the sweet bread in her mouth. He smirked and entered the room.

"Hey, Scarface, how's about ya run along and tell them doctors not to get started without us." he instructed. Deadpool clenched his fists.

_"Hey! We're nobody's messenger boy!"_

_**"Let's just go. We don't wanna stress Raven out."**_

_"But she was gonna ask us something!"_

_**"She'll ask us later! Now let's go!"**_

"Alright, alright." the mercenary said, rolling off of Raven's bed "Just don't be too long."

"We won't!" Raven replied, waving as her delivery boy left her room.

When the red man left, Gambit turned his attention back to Raven.

"You and Deadpool seemed to have gotten real close, chere." he stated. Raven nodded, pulling her hair over to the side. She snatched a hairbrush from her nightstand and began to brush her dark tresses.

"Ya close enough to tell him ya movin back to the Bayou with me after ya last surgery?" he asked, taking a step forward. Raven cringed and pulled her brush through a particularly nasty tangle.

"Actually...I've been thinking' about that, Remy." she said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe I can stay here? I mean, everyone really likes me and I like them." she continued. Gambit ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Mon chere, I really don't think that's a good idea." Remy answered. Raven frowned and crossed her arms.

"I mean, ever since you got your voice back, I've been spreading the word around the Bayou." he continued "You've already got a pretty big list of clientele. If ya stay up here, ya gonna lose them all."

Raven's frown deepened and she turned to look out her window. Down in the quad, all of the students were hustling and bustling to their classes. She could see some of her own friends in the mix; probably on their way to the hospital wing.

"Maybe I don't have to have a list of clientele." she said, "Maybe...maybe I could have a list of students instead."

Gambit rolled his eyes and rested his hands on the shoulders of the woman he cared about.

"And what will ya teach em, chere? How to kill a man in over a thousand different ways?" he questioned. Raven shrugged.

"I dunno. I mean, I used to be really good at science. Maybe I could teach that." she suggested.

"Um, no offense, chere, but science has changed a whole hell of a lot since you were first learning it." he countered "Besides, in this economy it's good to stick at what you're good at."

Raven felt her heart sting, but she knew Remy didn't mean for that comment to be particularly true. Besides, she knew he was right. Killing other human beings really was the only thing she was good at. After all, she had been doing it since she was a little older than seventeen.

"And I really highly doubt you told them about your life before you arrived on their doorstep, either." he added. She frowned and turned around to face him.

"Now, chere, don't give me that look." he told her, stroking the side of her face lovingly "I'm only telling you this to protect you from getting hurt. Ya know how they get about being all good and whatnot. Why do ya think they don't take too kindly to Deadpool and me?"

Raven nodded, he did have a point. She could barely imagine how harsh they would be towards her once they found out she was one of the most notorious mercenaries in the business and one of the participants in the infamous mutant massacre. Even though she was forced to do it by Stryker, the faces and screams of her fellow innocent mutants echoed in her mind almost on a daily basis.

"I know ya got a life here and all. I'm not askin for any major decision just yet. Just think about it, ok, chere?" he asked, keeping his hand on her cheek. She nodded and he smiled.

"Good. Now lets get ya to surgery so they can prep ya!"

Raven laid in her hospital bed, once again in her paper thin gown. She was all prepped and ready to go, but for some reason none of the nurses, doctors, or even the anesthesiologist had come in to take her yet.

"Hey, silent and sexy. Mind if I come in?" Deadpool asked from the doorway. She nodded, happily patting the space on the bed next to her. He smiled and entered, making sure to close the door behind him.

He sat down on the bed next to the dark haired woman, who frowned curiously. Something was up with the usually talkative mercenary. What was on that crazy mind of his?

"I've been thinkin', Raven-"

"Oh well, there's a surprise." she interjected.

_"Burn!"_

_**"Burn."**_

"I'm being serious, for once." he continued, taking her hand in his "To be honest, Raven, I really am starting to see this goin somewhere."

She blushed a deep red.

"Me too, Deadpool." she replied. He smiled.

"Good. So, that's why I was thinking of giving you something you've been wanting for a long time." he said. Raven was so giddy with excitement that it took everything she had to not jump up and down.

"You gotta promise that it won't change anything between us."

Raven rolled her eyes and made an x over her heart.

"Cross my heart and hope to die. Now come on! Spill it!" she demanded as loud as her voice would let her. He smirked and, in one swift movement, pulled off his mask.

Her eyes widened. His entire face was covered in incredibly painful looking lesions. No hair covered his head and his eyes were a sickly yellow. He didn't even have any eyebrows or lashes. It was a face most people, be it woman or man, would find absolutely repulsive. Raven, however, loved it.

"Wade Wilson." he introduced himself, causing Raven's heart to skip a beat. She knew his real name now, that definitely brought them closer.

"Gwendolyn Marie Pierce." she replied, holding out her hand. He took it and kissed her knuckles.

"I know this ain't the prettiest face you've seen, but I appreciate you at least pretending not to be disgusted by it." Wilson told her. She smirked and held the side of his face in her hand, relishing in the unique feel of it.

"Are ya kiddin me?" she retorted "Your face is like a piece of modern art!"

Deadpool rolled his eyes and pulled away.

"Gee, thanks." he replied sarcastically rolling his eyes.

"I love modern art." she said, before he could put his mask back on. He smiled happily and immediately pressed his lips firmly against hers.

"Good." he replied handing her his mask "Take this in with you to surgery today, ok?"

She nodded.

"Ms. Raven, we're ready for you in surgery now." a kindly nurse injterjected. Wade gave her a reassuring wink.

"Knock em dead, kid." he said. She giggled and kissed his cheek, happily.

"Alright, Wade."

The next thing Raven knew, she was being wheeled back into the operating room for the last time, hopefully. Anesthetic was pumping into her system and had yet to take effect. She could hear the doctors talking about a whole bunch of different stuff using medical jargon she knew nothing about.

In one hand, she gripped her white hospital blanket. In the other, she held Deadpool's mask. Her heart beat a million miles an hour and her mind raced with thoughts of what just occurred between her and Wade Wilson. What did it mean, as far as their relationship was concerned?

Her head began to spin and her vision grew blurry. It would appear the anesthetic was finally starting to take effect. Good thing, too, she just wanted to get this over with so she would never have to go under the knife again.

Raven groaned and rubbed her eyes. She was incredibly stiff, but mostly incredibly surprised at how loud her groan was. It wasn't hoarse or resembling that of someone with a broken windpipe. It was clear and loud as a hungover college student with two jobs.

"Mmmm...Wade?" she called, meekly. Thanks to her healing factor, the effects of the drugs wore off quickly and the room quickly came into focus. She heard the steady beeping of the heart monitor and smelled fresh peonies which had been placed on the table next to her.

"Wade?" she called a bit louder. No answer. She frowned and swung her legs over the bed.

"Yooooooo, Gweny Gwen!" Wade called, entering the room as if on cue "I don't think the nurses would appreciate you getting up out of bed so soon."

She grinned and laid back down, handing his red mask back out to him.

"I just wanted to give this back to you." she replied "It really did make me feel better, thanks."

Wade nodded and took his mask back, sliding it back onto his face much to the displeasure of Raven.

"No problem." he said, before realizing how clearly she was speaking "Whoa! Dude, your voice it's so sexy!"

"Really?" she questioned. He nodded.

"Oh yeah! You sound like Zooey Deschanel, only not as annoying." he answered before shouting out the door "Hey, guys! Get in here! Raven's talkin and she's got a hot voice!"

Raven laughed, a hearty and loud laugh, as her friends piled in the room.

"You've got your voice back?!" Rogue exclaimed excitedly "Well, go on, say something!"

"Yeah, speak up, chere, you and I got two years worth of talkin to catch up on." Gambit chimed in.

"She can't talk with all of you talkin over her!" Wolverine scolded "Pipe down, bub!"

"I can talk just fine, thank you very much!" Raven shouted, causing the whole room to fall silent.

"Damn, you got some pipes on ya, girl." Deadpool commented. She giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry for yelling." she apologized.

"Nonsense, chere." Gambit replied, setting a smiley face balloon on the table next to her "If anyone should be hollerin' around here it should be you."

Raven giggled and poked the floating yellow balloon happily.

"I suppose your right." she said absentmindedly. Wolverine took a step forward.

"There's somebody else here to see you." he told her. Raven raised an eyebrow. All of her friends were in this room, who else was there?

"Hello, Raven." a gruff and sickeningly familiar voice said. As the huge male entered, Raven felt more and more anger bubbling up in her gut. The silver hair, juiced up body, and partially cyborged body. Yep, it was definitely here.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Raven asked through gritted teeth.

"Heyyyyyyy, Cable, you and Raven know each other?" Deadpool asked. Raven sat up in bed, pulling the various needles and wires out and off of her body.

"I said." venom dripping off of each word she spoke "What the FUCK are you doing here?!"

The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. The lack of answers did not help ease Raven's fury.

"Did you tell him I was here?" she accused Wade, who held up his hands innocently.

"No! Babe, I didn't even know he was looking for you!" he answered. Her eyes narrowed and they scanned over the rest of her friends in an accusatory manner.

"Nobody told me where you were, Raven." Cable said "I found you on my own."

Raven's glare turned to the time traveler. He must've reverse tracked her location that day she tried to track him. Damn, that was a rookie mistake.

She used her thumb to break the needle off her IV and stood up out of her bed. In four long strides, she crossed the room in shocking speed and had the thin metal pressed against his throat. Everyone else in the room assumed defensive stances, choosing not to act for fear they would provoke the once silent girl.

"What gives you that right?" she hissed.

"Nothing." Cable replied "Nothing except a warning I have for you about your future."

Raven mentally rolled her eyes as she pressed the needle into his neck enough to draw a little bit of blood. Oh, how badly she wanted to kill him right here and now in this hospital room. All the hurt she felt from his constant coming and going would all go away and be replaced with pure bliss.

"Save it." she growled "And just tell me one reason why I shouldn't kill your sorry ass right now."

"Raven, take it easy. You don't wanna do this." Wolverine tried to reason with the black haired girl.

"Fuck you I don't wanna do this!" she shouted back, her black eyes never leaving Cable's once "I've been waiting years for just this opportunity! And you all have yet to give me one good reason why I shouldn't take it!"

"Because I saved your life." Cable answered calmly "I gave you the tools that you needed to build the life you have now."

Raven snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. Some life." she replied.

"You got to meet Wolverine, didn't you? And Rouge and Gambit and Domino." he countered "And I see you've already met Deadpool."

Deadpool wiggled his fingers at his sometimes ally.

"Heyyyyyyy, Summers. Ya like my girl? Real fiery, ain't she?"

"Stay out of this, Wade!" Raven hissed. Cable raised an eyebrow.

"First name basis? You two must be close." he commented. Raven dug the needle in deeper.

"That's none of your business, you two ton hunk of junk." she warned him "Now, I suggest you take your sorry ass back to whatever dimension you came from and leave me alone!"

"Raven, I'm doing this because I care about-"

"Because you care about me?!" she exclaimed, dropping the needle and taking a step back "Because you care about me?! Oh, that's real rich, Summers. Really! You should be on TBS cuz that is just too funny!"

Cable wiped the blood off of his neck and stared at her with some guilt in his eyes and face. Everyone else remained in stunned silence.

"If you cared about me, where the fuck were you when I was diagnosed with cancer?" she asked, exasperated "Where the fuck were you when I went to chemotherapy and radiation all alone? Where were you when Stryker found me and turned me into this freak who can die?! Where the fuck were you?!"

"You told me to stay away. You were the one who left me, remember?" Cable countered. Raven laughed again, this time it was a sarcastic kind of laugh.

"There wasn't much for me to leave since you were barely even there." she retorted "And besides, now, all these years later, you decide to not listen to me? Just who the fuck do you think you are?!"

Cable remained silent, his eyes focusing on the ground. Raven felt her anger subside just a bit and she realized she had just said way more than she meant to in front of the X-Men and Deadpool. She closed her eyes and shook her head. This was definitely not how she imagined her first day with her voice to be.

"I'm going to my room." she growled, stalking out of the room. Cable kept his eyes fixated on the ground while the rest of the group looked past him and at the young girl who was walking off.

"Wow, I guess there's a lot about Raven we still don't know." Rogue said, dumbfoundedly.

"Speak for yourself, chere." Gambit replied, patting Rogue on the shoulder before following Raven's lead out of the room before more questions could be asked.

Raven laid in her room in complete darkness. She had no idea what time it was, other than it was nighttime. She had her blanket up over her head and was curled up in the smallest ball she ever contorted her body into.

At various points in the day since she stormed off, various friends had knocked on her door and tried to get her to come out and talk. However, she didn't want to talk to any of them. She wanted to lay here and wallow until she forgot all about Cable's unwanted visit.

She heard a soft tap on her window and closed her eyes. It was a windy night that night, so a branch would probably be tapping her window until the morning. Raven rolled over, her back to the noisy window.

There was another tap; this one louder and more insistent. She closed her eyes irritably. All she wanted was to lay her in silence, was that too much to ask?

As if sensing her irritation, the tapping stopped. She felt the corners of her lips twitch, threatening to turn into a smirk. This was nice. Just laying here with her eyes closed Raven could just relax.

Her window swung open suddenly, causing Raven to almost jump right out of her bed.

"Wade?! What the fuck are you doing?!" she hissed as the red clad mercenary climbed through her window.

"Well, I tried to be romantic and throw pebbles at your window, but I ran out of pebbles so I thought I'd just come up here." he explained, shutting the window behind him "Also, you weren't answering your phone."

Gwen rolled her eyes and wrapped her quilt around her body. She had gotten changed into a pretty skimpy Electra themed nightgown and it didn't really leave much to the imagination.

"You look nice in red, by the way." Wade added, with a wink. Gwen rolled her eyes and let the blanket fall down around her waist. There was no point in hiding this from Wade Wilson.

_**"Just imagine how nice she'd look wearing our costume."**_

_"Rrrrrrow!"_

"You must have like a billion questions for me." Gwen stated, obviously referring to the sudden outburst of information she had provided earlier. Wade shrugged.

"Well, yeah, we all do." he replied "But you don't have to worry about those just yet. I'm just here to make sure you're ok."

Raven smirked and rolled her eyes. He really could be sweet and thoughtful when he put his mind into it, whatever mind he had left.

"Yeah, I'll be fine...it's just rough seeing him after all these years and after everything I've been through." she commented. He nodded. Wade had no memories of his past, so he could only imagine what it would feel like seeing someone who screwed you over in your past for the first time; even though, in his opinion, Cable didn't seem like the "screw you over" type.

"Well, I'm here for ya, babe." he told her. Gwen smiled and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, inhaling the citrusy scent of her hair. Without a word, he pulled them both down onto the bed. Raven pulled the blanket up over both of them.

"Anything I can do for you?" he asked. Gwen nodded.

"There's a lot." she answered "But you can start by taking that damn mask off."

Wade rolled his eyes and obliged her request.

"I don't understand why you like it so much, but ok."

He tossed his mask over onto his nightstand and looked down at her. Even though he knew she had cancer, Wade never would've guessed it by looking at her. Her skin was a healthy pale and her eyes were bright and lively, despite their dark color. The only thing that gave it away was that awful bloody cough. Even with that, though, he still thought she was beautiful.

"I like it because it's yours." she told him, touching his cheeks gingerly with the tips of her fingers. They trailed over each and every lesion and scar as if she was reading a book in Braille.

"That was so cheesy." he mumbled back.

"You know you love it." she replied, pushing herself up next to his ear. He pulled her so that their faces were inches apart and looked into her eyes. She was such a special girl. Definitely not the kind of girl who was even remotely in his league, but definitely the kind of girl he could see himself falling for almost as hard as he fell for Domino. Maybe even more.

She lowered her head and kissed his lips softly. Although it wasn't a long or very passionate kiss, Wade could feel her gratitude, her happiness, and her love radiating off of her gesture. These feelings lingered even after she pulled away and laid her head on his chest.

"Goodnight, Wade." she mumbled, stroking his chest absentmindedly and listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat. He stroked her dark hair with great care.

"Nighty night, Gwen." he replied, yawning before closing his eyes and following her into oblivion.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hey, all! Just a little warning that this is going to be a (dun, dun, dunnnn) character origin chapter! I know some people don't like character origin stories, but I really love them because I feel a person's past has a lot to do with what person they are in the present and who they will be in the future! So, if you don't like character origins, I won't hold it against you if you skip this chapter (PLEASE DON'T THOUGH CUZ I LOVE IT WHEN YOU READ MY SHIT!). _

_Anyways, disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or any movies, songs, etc. used and/or referenced. I do own Raven! Enjoy!_

* * *

"Gweeeeeeeeen."

Raven groaned and rolled over in her bed, smacking the hand that was poking her away.

"Five more minutes." she mumbled. Deadpool continued to poke her face repeatedly.

"But Gweeeeeeeen." he whined "Deady is hungieeeeeeee."

"Then make your own breakfast, I'm sleepy." she groaned. Deadpool frowned and crossed his arms. Of course he could make his own breakfast, he was a grown man after all. It wasn't even as if her pancakes were remarkably good, unlike her tacos. He simply preferred Raven, or Gwen as he preferred to call her, to make them.

_"Wake her up, man! Our stomach feels like it's gonna eat us from the inside out!"_

_**"Or we could make them ourselves."**_

"No. That would require letting Gwen have her way and that's not something I can allow when my tummy is making the rumblies that only pancakes made by lady hands can satisfy." he told the voices. He rolled Gwen over onto her back, earning a nice loud groan from the black haired woman.

From this vantage point, Wade Wilson had an excellent view of Gwen's cleavage, which appeared like it was just about to pop out of its skimpy holdings. He grinned happily.

"Oh this is just too easy." he chuckled evilly to himself, reaching out with two sets of wiggling fingers. Just as they were about to rip the thin red fabric off Gwen's two hands shot up and held Wade's wrists in a vice like grip.

"Don't. Even. Think. About. It." she said. Wade's mischievous grin fell into a defeated pout.

"Awwww, Gwenie Gwen Gwen. C'mon, it's not like I haven't at least felt them before." he pouted. Gwen's eyes opened and she sat up, stretching.

"Touching, yes." she yawned "Seeing, not quite yet."

"Does that really matter?!" Wade exclaimed as Gwen got out of bed. She turned and planted a soft kiss on Wade's scarred lips.

"Yes, yes it does."

Wade rolled his eyes and reached over for his mask.

"I'm not even gonna try and figure that one out." he slid the red mask over his face, giving Gwen just enough leeway to put her jumpsuit on at lightning speed.

"It's not like you could even if you tried." she retorted.

"Hey! That was mean!" he whined. She rolled her eyes, as she applied her makeup.

"You know you like it." she replied. Deadpool laughed. Raven with her voice really added onto her sexy factor. Now, not only was she insanely hot, a great chef, and a cool person to hand out with; but she was also witty and possessed a super sexy voice. No, he didn't like it when she spoke harshly to him. He loved it when she just spoke to him.

"You know they're gonna find us eventually."

"Not if you keep your big fat mouth shut."

"Aw, c'mon, Gwen, what could be so bad that we have to play hide and seek with the X-Men?"

Raven's eyes narrowed and she lifted Deadpool's mask to shove the last pancake she made into his mouth, effectively silencing him. Surprisingly, this did not give away their position from inside one of the hedges of the mansion's extensive maze.

"You don't wanna know, hon, promise." she swore. Deadpool swallowed the pancake with some difficulty due to the lack of milk and pulled his mask back down.

"Dude, I showed you my disgusting ass face." he reasoned "You can't get worse than that."

Raven rolled her eyes and remained silent, sipping on her little juice box of apple juice.

"C'mooooooon, Gwen, just tell me a little bit?" he begged "You're so lucky you have a past that you can remember. I don't have any memories, good or bad, to talk about."

Raven sighed heavily and crushed her now empty juice box in her hand. Taking the pity route was really low, but it worked.

"Fine. Just a little bit, though." she relented "But we might as well do this with everyone here, right."

Deadpool burst out of the bush, pulling Raven with him.

"Whatever you say, sugar tits!" he exclaimed "Let's go have story time with the rest of the kiddies!"

Raven entered the secret war room carrying a small stack of her comic books. Like she always enjoyed saying "a picture is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words are also worth a thousand words". Hopefully, these would help fill in any gaps that the X-Men needed.

Her heart pounded as she walked past all of her friends and to the main table. Everything would be exposed today. Well, everything except the Mutant Massacre. Sure, it would be easy to explain becoming a mercenary as a means to earn quick cash for chemotherapy, but explaining how she murdered so many innocent mutants without mercy was something else entirely.

"So, um, I guess I owe you guys some kind of explanation for yesterday." she began, sitting down at the table, spreading her comics across the table.

"Damn right, you do!" Wolverine shouted, earning himself an elbow in the side by Storm. Deadpool was the first to pick up a comic and flip through the pages excitedly.

"Whoa! See?! I told you we were all just comic book characters!" Deadpool exclaimed, holding up the thin book in triumph "You gonna tell us how you got in touch with our progenitors? Are ya? Are ya?"

"Aw, shut your trap, Deadpool!" Rouge yelled "Let Raven explain herself!"

Raven nodded her thanks to her best friend as Deadpool sunk into a chair, clearly defeated.

"I was born a really long time ago to a real estate agent named Franklin George Pierce and a housewife named Anna Marie Pierce. We lived in Fenwick Island, Delaware for about a year until my younger sister, Dana was born." she explained "Neither of our parents had any mutations, but I discovered I had mine when I was about five."

She paused, recalling the fond memory with a slight smile. It was the first time she had ever used her powers for good.

"My best friend had the chicken pox" she sighed "I remember how sad she was that she couldn't go to the beach on one of the hottest days of the summer." she winked at Rogue, knowing she was significantly younger than the black haired girl.

"This was before everyone had air conditioning, honey." she joked, earning a warm smile from her friend "Anyways, I touched her arm and well...I just sort of wished I could take the pox from her so she could go to the beach, since I had already been that day, and badda bing badda boom, I instantly got the chicken pox and she got to go to the beach."

"Wow, I bet she did your homework till the eighth grade." Deadpool interjected.

"No. Anyways, my sister discovered her powers on her fourth birthday." she continued, smiling as yet another fond memory crossed her mind. Her younger sister had tried to blow out the candles on her birthday cake, but ended up just making the fire higher.

"Our parents were surprisingly progressive for the time. They accepted us and loved us and soon, so did everyone else in our small town. Everything was nice for a while...at least...until mom got skin cancer." her smile faded.

"Neither of them would let me take the cancer away." she explained "And she died little less than a year later. I think, somewhere deep down, Dana always held some kind of resentment towards me because of it. Anyways, dad never really recovered from that and he turned to the bottle; which cost him his real estate job. Eventually we had to move to Detroit where dad got a job as a machinist."

Raven recalled that day with a cringe. Ever since her mom died, it was like opening the safety cap to an overflowing septic tank (basically a huge shitstorm, in case that didn't put it into perspective for you).

"Turns out, despite our attempts at being friendly, they didn't take too kindly to mutants up there. We were ostracized, persecuted, and even physically assaulted on more than one occasion. I tried to preservere, hoping that I would be able to save my father and eventually become a scientist and discover the route cause of mutations. My sister, however, took a different route. She left high school in her freshman year to join the Brotherhood with this guy named Magneto who approached us after the first time my sister set the school on fire." she paused, and swallowed deeply "That left just me and dad."

She remembered that day. Her father had been so crushed by her sister's leaving. Dana hadn't even left a note goodbye. He drank until he couldn't stand up and fell asleep on his old ratty armchair they picked up from a dumpster. Gwen had covered him up that night with a blanket she had crocheted for him. She had promised to save him from his pain. So much for that.

"I lost him senior year of high school." she relayed "He was killed on his way back from work. Shot dead by the Irish mafia for not paying back money he had borrowed to set up a college fund for me on time." she clenched her fists, feeling the same fury she had that day all those years ago.

"I had done everything right. I played by all the rules and where did it get me?" Raven cursed "I swore that day I would avenge my father by killing every last member involved in his killing. I wouldn't have to wait long though. They came for me that night."

She took a deep breath. Here is where her line of killing began.

"I slaughtered every last one of them." she said, somewhat vengefully "I drained all of their life forces, their memories, everything they had, and when they shot me and hurt me I drained them more to heal. They were nothing but empty wrinkled husks."

Her dark eyes scanned the still empty room. Rogue had a hand over her mouth in shock. Domino's eyes were wide in surprise. Gambit was the only one who just kept his head down respectfully.

Raven's eyes rested on the strangely silent Wade. He stared back at her, a look of knowing on his masked face. Relief washed over her; she was so glad he didn't seem to think of her as some monster.

"That's when Cable found me. He took me in and taught me some skills so I wouldn't have to rely solely on my powers to defend myself. And the rest is history." she finished.

"But didn't you say something about you leaving him or something?" Domino questioned. Raven shrugged, not really wanting to get into further detail.

"He was always coming and going so there was really no point in staying. Still..." she played with a stray piece of hair "After all we been through it still would've been nice for him to come find me when I found out I had cancer."

"Which I'm assuming you got from absorbing the gangsters' life energies, right?" Rogue asked. Raven nodded, glad her friend didn't seem quite as disturbed. Wolverine, who had been flipping through the comic books as she explained her story, closed the last issue and set it on the table.

"I really hope this doesn't change anything." Raven forced herself to say "I really...I really like all of you" her eyes met with Deadpool's "And I really don't want to lose any of you."

"Well, ya know ya got me, chere." Gambit said, raising his head to give Raven a proud smile. It took a lot for her to tell all of these people so much about her, even if it wasn't everything. That would come with time.

"Me too!" Deadpool chimed in competitively.

"Me three, sugar!" Rogue added.

"And me." Domino said.

"And me." Storm smiled. Wolverine rolled his eyes and slapped a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"I think you already know you've got me on your side."

"I'd be worried if I were you." Deadpool whispered not so subtly into her ear, earning him a very threatening growl from Wolverine. She giggled happily. This was just like some scene out of a cheesy 80's flick. Everything was so perfect. She finally found a place she belonged.


	17. Chapter 17

_This is kinda a sappy chapter, but hey I was in a really sappy mood when I wrote it. The beginning may not seem like that cuz...well just read the damn thing._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or any movies/TV shows/music/etc. used/brought up here. I do own Raven and Kyle. Enjoy!_

* * *

About two more months passed since that day. Much to Wade's pleasure, Gambit returned to Louisiana about two months after Raven's voice was restored. Even though she and him still talked via technology, at least he wasn't physically here to horn in on his action.

There had been discussions between Raven and Wolverine about the possibilities of the dark haired woman becoming a teacher, but he didn't want to estate her as one at least until Tony gave him the results of the technoanalysis of Raven's collar. That and he wasn't sure about giving a woman who didn't even have a high school degree a teaching job.

However, the black haired girl seemed to thrive even without a job. She earned her keep by helping out around the mansion in any way she could: from fixing cars to watching students while Wolverine or any other teacher had to leap into X-Man mode.

And even though this all pleased her, what made her the happiest was whenever her prince in red spandex called upon her. Despite not having an official title, the two of them could often be seen wandering through both the mansion and the big city with their hands intertwined.

On this chilly October day, Gwen trudged across the courtyard, causing the many beautiful leaves to scatter around her. She rubbed her mitten clothed hands together, blowing on them for extra warmth. God, she hated the cold. And it was only October, so this wasn't even as cold as it was going to get.

She zipped up her bomber jacket all the way up to her neck, making sure to tuck her scarf in as she did so.

"Damn cold." she mumbled "Why couldn't they have built this place in Florida or someplace warm?"

Ever since her voice was restored, Gwen was never shy about using it. She was never one to shy away from karaoke and when she got hurt you could bet your ass that she'd let you know. Even when there wasn't anyone to talk to, Gwen would occasionally talk to herself; finding the sound of her own voice to be extremely comforting and soothing.

The cold harsh wind blew around her, reminding her of her close proximity to the frigid country of Canada as an answer to her question. She rolled her dark eyes, catching a glimpse of the darkening skies as she did so. There was a storm coming, which meant she had to hurry back from the post office quickly, unless she wanted to get her package soaked.

Another new hobby of hers was research. She had recently been gathering all the information about Project X as she could find from various sources, both reputable and not so reputable. Her need to find out more about the project almost completely consumed her thoughts. She, Wolverine, Deadpool, and Gambit were all involved; but how many more were? How many perished and how many survived? Were they all subjected to the same thing? Were they all strictly mutants or were some humans? And, more importantly, what exactly was the purpose of Project X?

Completely lost in her thoughts, Gwen didn't notice the young blonde haired boy directly in front of her until they smacked into each other; the force causing Gwen to stumble and the boy to fall down.

Her eyes widened and she ripped her earbuds, which were now pigs, out of her ears.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, quickly pausing her music before offering her hand. The boy wordlessly took it and stood up, brushing some crushed leaves off of his clothes. Gwen recognized this boy from the few times she had taken care of Wolverine's class while he was away.

"Kyle? What are you doing out here?" she asked "Don't you have class?"

His blue eyes flashed coldly to meet hers and chills raced down her spine. Jeeze, if looks could kill she would've been dead.

"Yeah? So what?" he challenged her "Ya gonna tell on me?"

Her eyes narrowed and she tightened her grip on the boy's hand before he could yank it from hers.

"I might, but where would that get me?" she hissed "I think I'd much rather give you a lesson in showing respect to your fellow man."

Kyle activated his mutant ability and walked straight through the older woman causing her to cringe again. So that what it must feel like when a ghost walks through you: creepy.

"Whatever, lady." he said, continuing to walk. Oh hell no, he did not just backsass her. Raven immediately did a backflip, soaring high into the air before landing nimbly in front of the blonde boy.

She did not land more than five seconds before knocking his legs out from under him and pinning him under her with a fist raised high, ready to strike. It was now she was glad she wasn't a teacher because this was definitely lawsuit worthy material.

Raven could sense him trying to use his power due to his temperature dropping only slightly and brought her fist down, stopping it just before it broke the boy's well defined nose.

"From the looks of it, it doesn't seem like you've had your nose broken before." she said with a wink "I can fix that if you decide to use your powers again, Casper."

"Just how the hell did you know I was going to use them? And how did you move so fast?" he asked, rather irritably. She lowered her fist and stood up, helping him up.

"Maybe if you spent less time cutting class and more time learning you would find out." she replied, hoping he would take the bait. He snorted.

"Fat chance! You got lucky this time. Any other time, I bet you a hundred dollars you won't even be able to catch me."

Raven's inner dog ears perked up at the mention of money. Through her years of living with Gambit, she had learned that killing people wasn't the only way to earn some quick cash. Gambling worked too, when you played your cards right.

"Bet you two hundred I can land a hit with my eyes shut." she countered. Kyle raised his eyebrow, not accustomed to an adult talking to him as his equal like this.

"Three hundred says not even close." he said, holding his hand out. She smirked, grabbing his hand and shaking it; sealing the deal.

"Three fifty and-" she said with a mischievous smile "If I win you have to promise me you'll go to all of your classes and earn an A in at least three."

"And if I don't?" he asked. She pulled him in close, her lips inches from his ear.

"Then I'll make your life a living hell until you leave this place...plus you'll owe me three hundred and fifty dollars."

He noticeably tensed, but soon relaxed.

"Deal."

Raven smiled in satisfaction, releasing the young boy, and resuming her path back to the post office.

"Meet me at five in the dojo. And dont be late or else you can add another fifty to the pool!" she called over her shoulder. He didn't respond, but she knew he had heard her. He better have because he was officially on her list.

Raven stood in the training area, which she had dubbed the dojo, shifting from side to side in front of one of the many floor length mirrors that lined the walls of the room. Her ratty sneakers squeaked nosily against the wooden floor as she moved, ducking and punching imaginary foes.

Her package rested in the far corner of the room, hidden underneath her jacket, scarf, and sweater. They were being used to hide the package simply because ,considering how hot it was inside compared to outside, they were nothing but an irritation.

The door opened and Raven could see her challenger enter, throwing his winter jacket to the side; revealing a pretty sweet Blink-182 shirt.

"Nice shirt." she grinned "A bit young for Blink-182, aren't you?"

"A bit old for you to be making bets with underage students, aren't you?" he retorted. She laughed. This kid, minus his horrible attitude, was pretty awesome.

"Alright." she tucked her dominant right hand behind her back "Come at me, bro?"

Wolverine sat in his office, hunched over paperwork. It wasn't the usual kind of paperwork, though. See, after Cable left, Deadpool suggested that something needed to be done in order to cheer Raven up. For once, the short headmaster had to agree with the madman, especially after learning of her tragic past. So, the paperwork he was filling out was to order the final decorations from PartyCity. Hopefully, without any delays, everything would arrive in a week.

"Um, excuse me, Professor Logan?" a security guard, by the name of Terry, asked as he entered the room politely. Wolverine sighed and set his pen down. He hated being called Professor. Just Logan or Wolverine was fine with him.

"Yeah, Terry?" the tired professor asked.

"There's a situation going on in the training room." Terry explained. Logan raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of situation?"

"That's another fifty right there!" Raven cheered, delivering another roundhouse kick into Kyle's side and sending him flying "You gonna be broke if you keep going like this!"

Kyle struggled to get up, holding his side in pain. Yeah, Raven was holding back a bit, but getting kicked in basically the same spot four different times hurt.

"How about this, double or nothing, you land a hit on me once and you win the whole deal, alright?" Raven suggested, bouncing from side to side. She had long since tied her hair up in a ponytail and the extra hair swung back and forth against her shoulder blades.

"You're on!" Kyle shouted, eager to get a hit or two in on the woman who has continuously planted his ass on the ground for the past fifteen minutes.

"I'm gonna make this easy for you." Raven shut her eyes and put both hands behind her back. She could hear Kyle chuckle and crack his knuckles. Of course he wanted to hit her, while she was training with Cable there have been plenty of times when she wanted to hit him. Nobody likes being made look like a weakling, especially men.

His footsteps were heavy on the wood, which was his first mistake. Second, was charging straightforward at her; which just wasn't a good idea in general unless you had a healing factor. Third, he assumed that just because her eyes were shut and she had no arms up then that meant she was inviting him to punch her in the face.

Raven leaned back, feeling the wind following what would've been a pretty decent sucker punch right in her money maker. Before he could swing again, which she knew he would, she let herself fall onto her right shoulder; using the momentum to spin herself around very much like a breakdancer.

Also, very much like a breakdancer, her legs and feet performed as well, swinging and delivering a swift, powerful kick right in the young boy's jaw. This sent him flying into the mirror, causing it to crack noticeably.

Raven opened her eyes and flipped upward, feeling very satisfied. He was such a cocky individual, but she had to give him credit for sticking to the rules of strict hand to hand combat and not using his powers.

She walked over to the kid and held out her hand.

"You did good." she said with a smile. Kyle rolled his eyes and held his now incredibly sore jaw.

"Yeah right, I got my ass kicked by an old lady." he muttered, taking her hand. She pulled him up with an exaggerated groan.

"Hey, I ain't that old." she retorted. He rolled his eyes again as they released their hands from each other. His eyes didn't show the same hatred for her as they did before, but instead showed a glimmer of what appeared to be adoration.

"So I guess I owe you a lot of money." the blonde said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. Raven laughed and waved it off.

"Nah, that last kick I gave you looked pretty nasty, so I think that should take some money off." she smiled "How about we just leave it at the original three fifty?"

He smiled, clearly very relieved at her. She was relieved, too, that she didn't knock any of his teeth out with that last kick.

"Deal." he said.

"Would either of you two mind telling me what the hell is going on here?" a gruff voice demanded from behind them. They both turned to see Wolverine standing in the entrance of the training facility with a potbellied security guard. Kyle, despite looking like he had a chip on his shoulder, did seem a bit unnerved by the headmaster's presence.

"You get outta here." Raven whispered "I'll handle short and cranky, here."

Kyle smirked and ran out of the room. As the door slammed shut, Wolverine turned his attention on the pale woman in front of him.

"What the hell were you two doing?" he asked. Raven shrugged and cracked the bones in her neck.

"I would think that you would be a bit nicer to me considering I just fixed your problem student." she retorted. Wolverine sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't tell if she had always been so snarky or if this was just something that arose from her extensive time spent with Deadpool.

"By breaking him?!" he exclaimed, pointing to the broken mirror. Raven groaned.

"Ok, that looks worse than what it is, but seriously, I really think I got through to him today about how important this school is."

Wolverine raised an eyebrow.

"And how do you suppose that?"

"Well, for starters, if he doesn't learn then he's gonna get his ass beat." she replied with a very satisfied grin. Wolverine sighed yet again and shook his head. He had verbally said the same thing to that kid over and over again, but maybe he was the kind of kid who needed to learn from experience.

He looked at the broken mirror.

"That's gonna come out of some of your earnings, sweet cheeks." he said. Raven smiled happily. Wolverine could never be mad at her for too long. He was very much like the doting older brother she never had. She skipped over and threw her arms around her friend, kissing his hairy cheek fondly.

"No problem, honey, bye!" she told him before grabbing her package, clothes, and leaving.

"Women." Wolverine muttered, shaking his head.

Gwen erased "The Doctor is: Out" writing from her white board and scribbled "Guns out, Keep out!" in its place before opening her door and entering. She locked her door and quickly ran over to her windows, shutting the blinds quickly. Nobody needed to know of the extent of her involvement with Project X, regardless of how involuntary it was.

She stripped out of her winter gear until she was left with nothing, but a black tank top and her black lace back panties. Thanks to a donation from Deadpool, Gwen now had a space heater which she turned up to its highest setting to keep her room at basically tropical temperatures.

She hopped up onto her bed next to her package and pulled out her trusty laptop. While she waited for it to load, she pulled out a knife she had taped underneath the windowsill to open her package.

After digging through styrofoam packaging, she found her prize. She had paid top dollar for these. Gwen smiled in satisfaction as she pulled the first DVD out.

These were all of the video footage made at Three Mile. From security tapes to medical reports: it was all there. There wasn't much, but hopefully what was there would give her some answers.

Just before she could put the first DVD, there was a loud knocking on the door accompanied by the overwhelming smell of tacos.

"Yo, Raven." Deadpool's voice called to her from the other side of the door "The sign says Keep Out...does that mean our date is cancelled?"

"Shit." Raven hissed, shoving the DVD back in the box and shoving the box under her bed.

"Be there in a minute!" she called, cursing her own forgetfulness. She had been so excited to get her package that she must've forgotten. Ever since the weather got so cold and Raven refused to ride on the scooter when it was so cold, Deadpool had taken to bringing their dates to her. Tonight, obviously, was commemerating the first night they had ever spent together by eating tacos, drinking alcohol, and playing violent video games.

"Well, hurry up! It's fucking cold!" he protested.

"Oh, quit your bitchin'! I'll be there in a minute!" Gwen called back, hopping into a pair of grey sweatpants, in a fake New York accent. Once the pants were on she opened her door.

"Hey, babe." Wade greeted her with a kiss on the cheek "Lookin' good."

Gwen smiled and shut the door after he entered. He really was the best. He was just the right amount of sweet and protective. Just the right amount of crazy without going into being too dangerous. Plus, despite what some might think, she genuinely found his scarred face attractive. Now, if only she knew if they were officially a thing or not. She was too afraid to ask, for fear that the sudden demand for a commitment would drive him away.

"So how was your day?" she asked instead. He shrugged, pulling his mask off and tossing it in it's usual spot over on her nightstand.

"Same ol' same ol'." he replied, sliding down onto his usual video game spot on the floor "All this cold makes killing really uncomfortable, though."

Gwen smiled. It wasn't that he was working in the frigid cold that made it happen. It was that she saw a perfect opportunity to give him a gift she had been working on.

"Well, I've got something for you!" she exclaimed, running over to her closet. Wade clapped his hands together happily and jumped up and down in his spot.

"Oh! A surprise?! I love surprises!" he shouted "Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Gwen smiled and reached up on the very top shelf of her closet. Once her bare fingers met with thick wool, she knew she found his gift.

She got the idea in September while she and Wade were walking through Central Park, watching the changing leaves fall and drinking hot cider. They had walked past a couple enjoying the same surroundings as them. The man wore a thick wool scarf and the female wore a dress with tights. Gwen had thought nothing of the close encounter, but she heard Wade mumble under his breath something about "wishing he was normal".

That night, she had begun to crochet a scarf just like that man's; only Wade's was a plain black, with the only color being a red heart she had stitched on the inside corner with their initials embroidered on it. It was Gwen's way of telling him that she didn't need normal, but if it was what he wanted then she would do her best to create as much normal as she could.

"Close your eyes." she said, pulling the scarf from the shelf and holding it behind her back. His yellow eyes shut and his body rocked side to side in anticipation.

_"Oh boy! Oh boy! Our first gift from Gwen!"_

_**"Wonder what it could be."**_

_"I bet it's a race car! Oh she knows how much we love race cars!"_

_**"Now, now, let's not get too crazy. It's not like we're even official yet."**_

_"Oh yeah. When are we gonna fix that?"_

**_"Tonight, remember?"_**

_"Oh yeah!"_

True to the voices in his head's word, Wade Wilson was officially going to ask Gwendolyn Pierce to be his girlfriend. It was all he could think about for three days, minus tacos of course. And tonight was the night. Tucked away in his pocket was a small red box that held his old dog tags from Project X. It was the only thing he had left from his past and hopefully, it would be hers now.

He felt her wrap something around his neck.

**_"Definitely not a race car."_**

_"Dammit!"_

"Ok, open them!" Gwen exclaimed. Wade opened his eyes and felt his neck.

"Wow! A scarf!" he whistled "Black? Very sexy. I don't think anyone's ever made a color look sexier!" he gave her a wink "Well, besides you, babe."

Gwen giggled excitedly and sat next to him.

"I sewed that heart onto the end, but I put it on the inside so it'll be manly." she explained. Wade inspected the end of the scarf. Sure enough, there was a small red heart sewn onto the corner.

"WW + GP." he read before looking at the woman next to him "Awwww, Gwen, you do care!"

Gwen blushed and kissed Wade's scarred cheek.

"Course I do! You ready to get this night started or what?"

"Yeah!" he cheered, before remembering what he had in his pocket.

"Well, wait..." he fumbled around one of his many pouches for the box "I kinda...have something to ask."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. He sounded serious, but it was hard to tell if he was seriously serious or just trying to throw her game off.

Her eyes grew wide when he produced a small red box.

"Here." he handed her the box. She took it with shaking hands. He had never given her any sentimental gifts before.

She opened the box, revealing a set of old, slightly rusted dog tags. Upon closer inspection, she could see one read "Deadpool" and the other read "Wade Wilson" followed by standard military information.

"They're my dog tags." he explained "Back when I was in Project X. See, I wanted to give you my varsity jacket, but since I cant remember if I was even a member of a varsity...whatever a varsity is but-"

"Shhhhh." Gwen interjected, placing a hand on his "I love it. Mind if I ask the occasion?"

**_"Be a man! Tell her!"_**

Wade looked at the woman he held so much affection for. His gift rested on her lap as she held a taco in one hand, while opening a bottle of Corona in the other. Even dressed in frumpy sweatpants and a plain black tank, she was still the sexiest woman in his eyes.

"Well, um, I was sort of wondering if you'd be my girlfriend." he said. Gwen almost choked. She pounded on her chest hard with a closed fist. Was this another dream?

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Do you wanna be my girlfriend?" he repeated. Gwen squealed loudly and threw herself into his arms.

"Yes, yes, YES!" she screamed. He hugged her back, incredibly thankful and relieved that she didn't say no. Plus, he felt like the luckiest man alive with this smoking hot mutant lady by his side.

_"Score!"_

**_"Careful. Things are gonna get more complicated from here on out."_**

"Psh, no way." Wade said, before turning his attention to Raven "Now how about we get those tags on ya?"

Gwen pulled back, nodding excitedly.

"Yeah! I think I accidentally knocked them under the bed."

"No worries, my love, I will retrieve them for you." he reached under the bed. Gwen's heart sank while simultaneously practically beating out of her chest as her new boyfriend's hands grew closer and closer to the box full of footage. All the while, she pleaded with destiny to keep him from discovering that box.

Thankfully, he grabbed the dog tags and was none the wiser about the box. He slid them over her head.

"Well, how do I look?" she asked. His eyes fixated themselves on her protruding chest.

"They look amazing." he commented, his mouth hanging down "And you look great too."

She giggled.

"Thanks. You look nice too. Now, can we please get this party started?"

That night, Raven marched through a dark and decrepit hallway. She knew this place. She hated this place. Dear God, she hated this place. There was no light here. Water dripped from the ceilings and pooled onto the concrete beneath her. She had two long katana swords drawn.

**"Kill them. Kill them all. Leave no survivors. Kill them. Kill them all. Leave no survivors."**

Raven clenched her fists tighter around her swords, gritting her teeth, tears forming in her eyes as she wished with all of her might not to obey the monotone voice in her head.

**"Kill them. Kill them all. Leave no survivors."**

How did she even get here anyways? Last time she checked, she was curled up in Deadpool's arms watching V for Vendetta after beating every tag team level in Left for Dead 2. It was warm there. Not like this frigid hell hole.

A door a few steps ahead of her opened, revealing a white light and what sounded like screams of the damned. Raven wished she could scream too. She wished she wasn't under the control of this voice.

**"Kill them. Kill them all. Leave no survivors."**

She stepped into the light, completely horrified at what laid on the other side.

Rogue, Wolverine, and all of her friends stood there. Under no desire of her own, she began to attack. She sliced and stabbed and cut apart everyone she knew. Everyone she ever cared about fell victim to her spinning blades.

Tears fell from her empty, black orbs as she spun and killed. If she even thought of disobeying, her throat would be choked from the inside while being electrocuted. The pain was unbearable and thanks to her healing factor, there would be no hope of any scar tissue forming to take away the pain.

"Gwen."

His voice rang out clear as a bell. She shut her eyes, earning another shock and choke from her collar. Why did it have to be him? Oh God, if you are as merciful as the bible thumpers say, please let it not be him.

She turned, swords ready, and opened her eyes to meet the sickly yellow orbs of the man she loved. His scared face showed sadness and betrayal as he walked over the bodies of their fallen friends.

"Gwen, please don't do this." he begged, opening his unarmed arms to her "You can stop, please. Gwen, I love you."

**"Kill them. Kill them all. Leave no survivors."**

"Wade, please, run! Run away, please! I can't stop!" she wished she could scream. She wished she could drop her weapons and run into his arms never to leave them for all eternity.

Instead, she ran at him; slowly at first, but gathering speed quickly, her swords firmly grasped in hand. Her scarred lover did not move. As she leapt up into the air, his eyes followed. And as she dropped down, his arms remained outstretched. They moved only when she brought the swords down into his body. He gasped in pain as he wrapped his arms around her.

As soon as her swords came to their hilts, it was as if the spell on her was released. She immediately pushed Wade off of her, holding him in her lap as she pulled her swords from his body.

"Wade, Wade, please wake up. Please." she begged, slapping the sides of his face "I didn't mean to, please."

His eyes were lifeless, his mouth hung open and blood dripped out of it. Tears fell freely and she felt like she was losing her mind. He can't be dead. He can't be dead.

"Wade! This isn't funny! Wake up!" she screamed, sobbing hysterically. She pulled his dead weight into her and rocked him back and forth, not even caring that his blood was all over her.

"Please...I don't want to be alone..."she whimpered, crying some more. She rocked continuously back and forth, crying not only for her fallen love, but for her fallen friends. The room was completely silent minus her sobbing.

It wasn't until she felt a hand on the back of her head that she stopped.

"It's all your fault." Wade's voice hissed in her ear. Raven froze, holding him still and tight against her.

"It's all your fault. You couldn't protect us. You couldn't protect anyone. You just ended up destroying all of us." he continued.

"You gotta play with the cards you're dealt, chere." Gambit's dead voice said from behind her "You're no hero. You're a killer. Always have been. Always will be."

"You're a killer." Rogue's voice chimed in "Always have been. Always will be."

She knew they were dead. She did it herself. So why did she feel their presence behind her?

"You're a freak who can't die." Domino added "How could anyone ever care about you?"

"How could anybody ever love you?" Wade whispered. New tears formed and, despite their harsh words, Raven kept Wade in her arms and refused to turn around. She closed her eyes and sobbed as loud as a child getting her first tooth. This hurt way more.

"Gwen! Gwendolyn! For the love of all that's good and holy, get up!" Wade yelled, "Don't make me slap you! I swear I'll slap the shit outta you!"

Gwen's eyes shot open and she shot up in bed, straight into Wade's arms. Someone was screaming. Oh wait, that was her. She shut her mouth and sobbed into his chest. She cried and cried until her head hurt and she began to feel dizzy. Wade held her the entire time, whispering words of comfort into her ear.

Once everything calmed down, they laid back down next to each other. Wade kept his girlfriend firmly pressed against his body and she had never felt safer.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked, after a few minutes of silence. Gwen nodded, grasping at the red fabric of his suit like a child.

"I...I...I destroyed everything I ever cared about...everything I ever loved...I couldn't protect anyone. I couldn't change my fate..." she whimpered, her body still convulsing from the aftermath of her terror.

"Psh! Fate-shmate." he replied, stroking the bare skin of her arm "You make your own luck and so far you've been doing pretty well."

"Really?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Hell yeah. I mean, you got your voice back, you kicked a teenager's ass and didn't get arrested on it, you got three hundred and fifty dollars from said teenager, annnnnd" he gave her a reassuring squeeze "You're going out with the hottest Canadian who's ever existed and is still existing."

Gwen giggled, and kissed Wade on the cheek.

"Thanks, Wade. You really are a great guy."

He rolled his eyes.

"Tell me something I don't know, sugar tits."

She smirked. There was already so much she could tell him that he didn't know. Like, for one, she just realized she had fallen hopelessly in love with the scarred mutate.

"You think we can watch Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure?" she asked. Wade nodded, turning Gwen's computer back on.

"Sure, it's not like I'll be getting much sleep anyways." he wiggled his pinkie inside his ear "My ears are still ringing."

_**"She's got vocal chords louder than Banshee's."**_

_"All the better to scream our name with, my dear."_

"C'mon, guys, I'm trying to enjoy a tender moment with my babe." he told his voices. Gwen giggled and kissed his cheek again. She curled her legs up over his, not even caring as he laid one hand on her ass. He was still there. He didn't run. He didn't freak out or make fun of her. He stayed. He was supportive and caring, even though his voices were telling him to take advantage of her fragile emotional state for sex.

For the first time, someone in her life was there and for once, it looked likely would stick.


	18. Chapter 18

_Got another chapter for ya! BAM! Not doing so bad posting regularly, now am I?! Granted, this one may be-well nevermind. You'll find out when you read it! ;)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, the Avengers (or any of the members or people associated with the Avengers), or any of the music/movies/etc. mentioned/referenced/whatever. Enjoy!_

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Raven walked Deadpool to his scooter that morning, constantly apologizing for her midnight outburst. He waved it off, making sure to let her know that, due to his own fragile state of mind, he was also prone to such nighttime behaviors; something he had never told anyone.

She wished he didn't have to go. She wanted him to stay with her, just so she knew he was safe. Even though he had a healing factor just like hers, Raven didn't like the idea of him being hurt or brought to the brink of death just to wake up again.

"You gonna be alright, sweet cheeks?" he asked her, upon their entrance to the garage "I mean, I can stay. Of course, that will cost me rent money."

"No, Wade. I'll be fine." she replied, patting him on the back "Thanks, though."

Deadpool smiled as he saddled up onto his scooter. He pulled the scarf Raven had made for him tighter around his neck, making sure to stroke the heart she had stitched on it.

"No, you go on now and kill all those people. Make sure not to get shot in the head and-"

"Eat all my vegetables, too?" the mercenary gave his girlfriend a wink "Relax, mommy, I'll be fine. Believe it or not, this ain't my first rodeo."

Raven crossed her arms. She still wore her black jumpsuit for the most part, but always added a black down jacket with grey faux fur trim. She thought it looked kinda weird, but according to Deadpool it made her look "H.O.T. HOT!"

"I know that!" she huffed. He smirked. She was adorable, even when pretending to be upset with him.

He leaned over and kissed her already reddening cheek affectionately, while simultaneously starting his scooter. Due to the cooler temperatures, the old rusted hunk of junk needed major upgrades. However, thanks to Raven, it was probably the most winter ready scooter in all of New York.

"Quit your worryin and make the most of today, ok? I'll text you when I get home."

She smiled warmly at him and waved as he sped off into the autumn morning. As he sped out of the driveway, Raven saw a bright red 1967 Jaguar convertible roll into the driveway. Her eyes narrowed. What asshole would be driving around in a convertible in the middle of October? Well, he wasn't a complete asshole. At least he had the top up.

It pulled straight into the garage and parked right in the spot where Deadpool's scooter once occupied. Raven could see a well dressed man with awesome looking facial hair and sunglasses. Sunglasses? Seriously? It has been overcast for like the past two weeks.

The man exited the vehicle followed by a stunning red-head clad in very chic business attire. A Bluetooth was wedged into her pretty ear and she chattered incessantly into it about pushing some kind of meeting back.

"Um, hi, lady." the man greeted her, taking off his sunglasses "I'm looking for Logan's office. Think you can point me in the right direction, sweet cheeks?"

Raven's eyes narrowed. She didn't believe it at first, but as soon as this egomaniac opened his mouth her suspicions were confirmed. The man before her was none other than the famous Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man. Of course, that would mean the woman with him was his girlfriend Pepper Potts, head of Stark Industries.

"And who, may I ask, is looking for the headmaster?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. First thing's first is to demolish this guy's ego by pretending she hasn't seen his face on the news a thousand times.

"You're kidding. Seriously, is this chick for real?" the billionaire asked, a dark eyebrow raised. Pepper nudged him in the side, warning him to keep his superego in check.

"Ugh, fine, I'm Tony Stark." he introduced, before indicating his girlfriend "And this is my other half, Pepper Potts, who is currently indisposed at the moment."

Pepper rolled her eyes as she continued to argue with an unfortunate employee on the phone. Raven held out her hand and shook the hand of Tony Stark.

"My name's Gwen, but most people call me Raven." she said. Ever since her voice was restored, she grew more and more anxious to shed the dark skin that was Raven in order to embrace her new life in the light as Gwen.

"Oh! Then you're just the girl we're looking for." he produced a small silver briefcase from under his arm "I believe this belongs to you."

Raven's eyes narrowed at the package. She knew her old collar was stored inside in a nice fluffy black fabric packaging. It had been sent to Stark Industries for analysis. They must've found something really interesting if Tony Stark came all the way from Malibu to tell her about it.

"Um, in that case, I think it would be a good idea if we did find Logan after all."

Minutes later, the trio sat inside the vast space of Logan's office behind huge closed doors. Gwen's knee bounced anxiously as she kept her gaze fixed on the huge window, or rather on the grey skies beyond the window. She would've immediately called Deadpool about this new development, but he needed the money more than he needed to support her through yet another crisis.

"Gwen, you need to pay attention." Logan's harsh voice broke Gwen from her stupor. She drew her attention away from the window just in time for the heavy red curtains to be drawn shut, making the room completely black.

Instantaneously, Tony opened the small grey briefcase, producing the actual collar and lighting up the room with one of his fancy holograms of the device.

"I'll admit, when you guys first sent me this thing, I expected to just tell you it was a vocal constrictive device and send it back." he explained, pressing a button that caused the hologram to split up into separate sections.

"However, upon further analysis, I found it goes deeper." he selected the main box "And it all starts with this little box here."

"What is it exactly?" Logan asked.

"Well, not only does it act as sort of a disciplinary system by delivering both a choking sensation and electrical shocks, but it also serves as a type of receiver." Tony explained. Gwen clasped her throat instinctively, recalling her horrible nightmare. That explains that situation.

"Receiver?" she asked, numbly. Tony nodded.

"Exactly." he replied "From what I gathered, the device accepts orders wirelessly, but it is very picky about what device can give the orders."

"Have you found a device that is compatible?" asked Wolverine. Tony shook his head.

"No. I did manage to hack into the mainframe of the system to figure out exactly how it all works, though."

"And that would be?" Gwen asked.

"Well, for starters, it administers commands directly to the brain using various chemicals to stimulate appropriate responses from the different centers of the brain followed by appropriate vocal commands." Tony answered "If the subject resisted then that's where the disciplinary system would take over."

"All while making the subject completely mute, right?" Gwen guessed. Tony nodded.

"Exactly. With a completely compliant being who can't even cry out in pain much less give up any secrets against the handler, you have yourself a perfect soldier."

Shivers ran up Gwen's spine at his words. "A perfect soldier"...yes...she remembered somebody saying something like that when she first woke up without the ability to speak. They had added her to some kind of pool. Well, to be more precise, she was the start of a new pool; a "perfect pool", if her memory served her correctly.

"I know you didn't come all this way to tell us this." Gwen said "There has to be more."

"Sadly, there is." Tony relayed, shutting down the hologram. Wolverine turned the lights back on, the sudden change causing Gwen's eyes to sting as they adapted to the sudden change.

"You see, what I'm worried about are the effects the chemicals administered to your brain caused, if any."

"So what are you suggesting?" Gwen asked, her arms crossed.

"That you come back to Malibu with me and Pepper. I've got a guy there who's a real science nut and I'm sure he'll be able to-"

"Not interested." Gwen interjected.

"Gwen, there could be something seriously wrong with your head." Pepper replied "We can help you. Bruce is very-"

Gwen held up her hand, silencing the redhead.

"Lady, in case you haven't realized, I have a pretty fucking awesome healing factor." Gwen explained "Anything that could ever even begin to be wrong with me is healed and long gone...well...everything except the black lung."

"Gwen, these a lot of these chemicals aren't even on the periodic table." Tony argued "Their effects, both short term and long term, could be incredibly hazardous to your mental health as well as your physical health."

This made Gwen grow silent. It was a possibility. Maybe it would be a good idea.

"And these tests...these tests will tell you if anything is wrong?" she asked.

"Yeah, in a nutshell." Tony answered. Gwen bit her lower lip and looked over at Wolverine for support. He looked like he wanted her to do this. But what would her new boyfriend say? Her moving all the way across the country would significantly cut the amount of physical time they had together. Would he be ok with that?

"Look, we're here in town for a conference that ends in a week from today." Tony stated "I know we can't make you come with us and I can't convince you to come because, let's face it, there may not be anything even wrong with you. All I'm saying is to consider it. It's better to be safe than sorry, right?"

Gwen nodded.

"Good. Let me know before our flight leaves next Friday." he told her, shaking her hand firmly "It was nice to meet you."

Gwen shook back, using her strong handshake that her father had taught her in her youth; which impressed the young billionaire.

"Nice to meet you, too, Tony. Thanks for everything."

After she and Wolverine saw Tony and Pepper off, Gwen stalked back to her room and locked the door, dressed only in her Punisher wife beater and grey sweats. She needed council and, since Deadpool still hadn't texted her to let her know he was home, Gwen turned to the next best thing.

"Sounds like it's worth doin, chere." Gambit told Gwen from inside her computer screen after she had explained the meeting. Raven sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Yeah, but I'm so sick of tests and being around doctors." she replied "And besides, all my friends are here."

Remy gave her a charming wink.

"Well, not all of them, chere."

Gwen laughed heartily.

"Besides you, swamp rat!" she ceased her laughing "But seriously, i don't even know how long I'll be stuck in Malibu for."

"Does it really matter?" Gambit retorted "You'll be in the land of sun and surf. Not to mention some of the most fine lookin people in the nation."

Gwen snorted, holding Wade's dog tags in her hands. Even though he was right, there weren't a surplus of deformed, crazy, Canadian mercenaries running around in Malibu.

"True, but I doubt I'd be seeing them much from inside a laboratory."

"Aw, now chere you're assumin. For all you know it could be two tests and then BAM: you're out on the beaches soakin up dem rays."

Raven smirked. He was right. For all she knew: this could be like a little mini vacation to paradise for a week or two. She could handle a little bit of doctor's visits as long as they were followed by sweet relaxation.

Suddenly, her Skype rang, letting her know that she was getting another call.

"Hey, Remy, I gotta go. Getting another call." she apologized. Gambit nodded.

"Alright, talk to ya later, chere."

And with that he hung up and Deadpool's scarred face popped up on her screen.

"Hey, Wilson. I can't tell if that's your face or if my computer is having issues loading Skype." she joked. He rolled his eyes.

"Oh, ha ha. Like I haven't heard that one a billion times." he replied "I noticed you haven't changed your Facebook status to 'in a relationship' yet. Does that mean we're not really in a relationship."

Raven grinned, making her Skype window smaller and pulling up Facebook.

"Actually, I was just about do that, my love." she replied, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

"Well, hurry up. The longer you make me wait, the more my feelings get hurt."

Raven's eyes narrowed as she hit the enter key.

"Don't be such a baby. There. It's done. Happy now?"

The mercenary typed a few things on his computer before turning his attention back to their video chat with a huge smile plastered on his face.

"Yes. Very! Now that it's Facebook official, that means we are officially validated as a couple."

Raven's eyes rolled. Even though he was kidding, she knew there were actually people out there who believed that bull crap. Oh, how she wept for this generation.

"So, how was your day?" she asked. He shrugged.

"My target slid and cracked his spine on a pile of wet leaves." he told her.

"So you didn't get paid?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Oh no. I got paid." he explained "The fall didn't kill him, it just made him a cripple. So I shot him." he spun his handgun around in his index finger "So, I guess you could say I spared him a lot of future hardships."

Raven couldn't help, but let a small snort escape from her lips. It was an extremely insensitive thing for him to say, but it was pretty funny.

"So, what did you do today, my dark princess?" Wade asked. Raven bit her lip again, her eyes focusing on the dog tags that she was currently fiddling with.

"Actually...that's something I need to talk to you about."

After Gwen explained everything to Wade, she looked expectantly at him, hoping he would be able to understand and support her just as he always had about all of this. She hoped he would point her in the right direction just like all those months ago.

"So, Malibu? For an undetermined amount of time." Wade let some air out of his nose "That's a lot of really expensive plane tickets, hotels, and dinners."

"I know." Gwen replied "But I don't have to go."

"I know you don't." he answered "But to be honest, I'd kinda be a real shitbag if I asked you to stay."

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, if what Iron Maiden says is true: there could be something going on with your head and, after last night, i think it would be best if you went just to make sure everything is ok." Deadpool answered, reluctantly.

"But will you be ok with the whole distance thing?" Raven asked. Deadpool nodded, his mood doing a complete 180.

"Of course, babe. I care about you. I'm not gonna let a couple hundred miles get in the way of us." he replied, touching her face through the screen "We'll find a way, I promise."

Raven could've started crying right there, but she didn't. Instead, she kissed his face on the screen.

"You're the best, Wade."

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know, babe."

* * *

_No songs used. There haven't been a lot of songs used a lot lately...don't worry that will change! _


	19. Chapter 19

_Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Deadpool, or anything else. I do own Raven and any other original characters mentioned. Thanks and Enjoy!_

* * *

A week from that day, Raven found herself standing in front of Tony Stark's private jet with her rolling suitcase next to her and her boyfriend in front of her. She had long since left a crying Rogue on the shoulder of Wolverine in the lobby of the airport.

"Ok, so you definitely have all of your chargers?" Deadpool asked. Raven nodded.

"IPod, iPhone, and my laptop charger. It's all here." she replied, a proud smile plastered on her face.

"Good. Cuz this distance thing is gonna mean contact and there is no way I'm doing snail mail!"

_"Yeah! Who uses snails to deliver mail anyways?! That's so dumb!"_

_**"They don't actually use snails, idiot. They use a system of cars, planes, people-"**_

_"Can it, stuffy! I wanna hear what Raven has to say!"_

"Ok, so I'll call you once we land and once I get all settled in." she told him.

"Yeah, and then you'll give me your new address so I can give it to the X-Pals. I got ya, babe." he reiterated. They had discussed this practically every day since Raven had called Tony to tell him she would go to Malibu with him.

"I'm gonna miss you, Wade." she told him, looking up at him with sad eyes. He smirked.

"Aha! That's why I got you this!" he exclaimed, producing a red and black jacket out of a brown bag. Raven's eyes widened. It was the top half of his uniform that clearly had been poorly severed from the bottom half.

"And this is...?"

"It's one of my older uniforms! I thought you'd like it since it was mine and smells like me and junk." he explained. Raven took the homemade jacket and pressed it to her face. The fabric wreaked so strongly of Deadpool that it stung her nostrils as tacos, hot sauce, blood, and a hint of Speed Stick invaded her senses.

"Wow! Thanks! This really does smell like you!" she said, throwing her arms around him "Thank you so much, Wade, this is really a great gift."

Wade wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling her as tightly as she could be pulled into him. This really would be hard for him to let her go like this, but for once he had to think rationally. Thinking irrationally is what landed him in the symbolic dugout of the dating world. Now that he was back in the game, he had no intention of getting thrown back on the bench. Especially with a girl as hot as Raven.

**_"Focus, man! Say something super romantic that'll instill confidence!"_**

"Hey," he said, rather seriously, holding her at arms length and staring at her in her tear filled eyes "There's no crying in baseball."

_"Nailed it."_

_**"Totally nailed it."**_

She wiped away her tears and smiled. Leave it to Wade to ruin a perfectly romantic moment with a movie quote from a crappy movie.

"Thanks, Wade." she giggled.

"C'mon, you two, let's get going!" Pepper called cheerfully from the door to the plane.

"Be there in a minute!" she called back, turning her attention back to Wilson "Alright. Lift the mask up. I gotta get one last look at that pretty mug before I leave."

Wade rolled his eyes and pulled the mask off his face. Gwen's own face lit up in a joyful smile and she reached out to touch the disfigured flesh. She ran her fingers over every last bump and scar until she felt as if she had them all memorized before standing on her tip toes, planting a nice firm kiss on her favorite pair of lips.

"Goodbye, Wade." she whispered, wishing she could add an "I love you."

The mercenary gave his girlfriend one last squeeze before letting her go.

"Bye, Gwen." he replied, wishing he could say the same.

_"I hate goodbyes!"_

**_"Dude, are you crying?"_**

_"Yeah! So what?! I'm gonna miss her!"_

**_"All the more reason to get more work, my man."_**

Raven walked up the stairs to the plane, allowing one of Stark's robotic helpers to take her bags; making sure to keep Deadpool's jacket pressed close to her chest along with his dog tags. She sat in one of the cream colored seats and took a glass of champaign from another robot butler.

As the plane started to move, Raven turned towards the window to see Deadpool still standing there, waving at her with some sort of lost puppy dog expression on his disfigured face. She waved back, blowing him kisses until she couldn't see him anymore.

"You two really like each other, don't you?" Pepper asked, once Raven settled back into her chair. She nodded furiously.

"Yeah. Or at least I think so." she replied, not wanting to seem too desperate. Pepper rolled her eyes and sipped some of the expensive champaign.

"You don't have to be all coy with me. Trust me, I can tell." she winked at the black haired girl.

"Yup. Pep's got a real knack for these kind of things." Tony chimed in, scrolling through his smartphone "You two might wanna buckle up, we're lifting off soon."

Raven nodded and she snapped her seatbelt into place around her waist. Looking out the window at the passing grey skies, she knew that New York wasn't the only place she was leaving behind. She was also leaving her home, her friends, and the man she had grown to love.

Her eyes returned to the inside of the plane as a flat screen tv lowered itself from the ceiling. Already, it was playing Pirates of the Caribbean, which was coincidentally one of the last movies Raven had watched with her X-Men friend's before her departure. She just hoped that she would get the opportunity to watch it with them again soon.

"Yeah...the flight was great, actually a lot better than I thought. We drank champaign and watched movies on this tv that dropped down from the ceiling." Raven said into her phone. True to her word, she had called Deadpool as soon as she landed in California. Well, actually, as soon as they packed themselves into Tony's limo. She had never ridden in a limo before.

"Of course, I miss you...I'm jet lagged as all hell, though, baby. What time is it?" she looked at Pepper for some assistance.

"9:24." she mouthed. Raven smiled her thanks.

"9:24." she repeated "Yeah...uh-huh...aw, Wade, you don't have to do that." Raven held the phone away from her mouth.

"He's adding our time here to his phone! Isn't that sweet?" she cooed. Pepper smiled warmly and nodded, giving her new friend two thumbs up. Tony, completely unamused, rolled his eyes and continued to stare out the window.

"Oh, ok...well, I gotta go now, Wade. I'll let you know when I get to the house...no...no I don't think Wolverine will let you use the Blackbird for visiting purposes...no...oh well, you're a grown man; do what you want. Ok, bye bye." she hung up the phone, a dreamy smile remaining on her face.

"So, you and Wade Wilson, huh?" Pepper asked. Raven nodded, her chest puffing out proudly. Wade Wilson, also known as Deadpool who was also known as the Merc with a Mouth, also known as her first boyfriend. Her first anything really; first kiss, first person to sleep in bed with her, first sexual fantasy, first-

The limo slid to a smooth stop in front of a tiny pink house with a gravel driveway. Huge hibiscus flowers of every color blossomed on either side of the door. Raven pressed her face up against the window of the car.

"Is this mine?" she asked. Such a quaint house without a single companion on either side certainly was rare to find in such a populous place as Malibu. It must've been expensive.

"No. It's mine." Stark replied abruptly "But for the time being it's yours."

"We thought it would be best for you to stay here to avoid unnecessary press coverage. Since it's outside Malibu, nobody should be bothering you, but us." Pepper added. Raven grinned and stepped out of the vehicle. If only they knew just how much she liked company.

"Malibu or not, this place is awesome! Just like a postcard!" she cheered. Tony exited the limo to help the black haired girl retrieve her suitcase. He took a key out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"Congratulations. You are now a new homeowner." he told her. With an excited giggle, Raven snatched the key, adding it to her own keychain with glee.

"Alright, get yourself settled in. A friend of mine will be stopping by in a few hours to take you to the lab." he instructed.

"Boy, you don't waste any time, do you?" she replied with a wink. Tony rolled his eyes.

"It's just blood work and stuff like that. Also, if your good, he might take you around town and show you around."

Raven giggled and looked at her new home over her shoulder. It may not have been one of the houses featured on MTV Cribs, but it sure was beautiful. And right on the beach too! Raven inhaled deeply, the scent of the ocean flooding her nostrils.

"I'll try not to be that bad." she joked. Tony smirked a smirk that Raven guessed probably made Pepper's heart skip a beat.

"Right. Take care, kid." he said, patting her arm rather roughly. Raven giggled yet again and watched as he reentered his car. She waved goodbye, waiting until she saw the limo disappear from the empty black road before running to her new home.

She unlocked the door with ease and burst into the home. It was dark; way too dark. She had just flown three hours away from darkness, it was time to let some of this amazing California weather in.

She turned on all of the lights she could find and flung open all of the curtains, successfully illuminating the space completely. The floors were old wood that creaked with almost each step she took. The walls were a very comforting light blue, almost so light it might've been mistaken for a shade of white. The furniture was obviously vintage, from pretty much every era.

"No way." Raven dropped everything she had been holding and ran into the living room. There, acting as the focus point of the room, was a vintage TV from the 1970's. And on top of that TV, was a VHS player. Raven touched it gently as if it was an artifact from a museum.

"Talk about a blast from the past!" she exclaimed, her eyes catching sight of a small stack of tapes. She knelt down excitedly and looked through them.

"Jurassic Park...Lion King...Casablanca...Who Framed Roger Rabbit..."she recited as she looked through the first four of the stack. She let out an impressed whistle. Damn, either Stark was a closeted geek or she just stumbled upon a hidden treasure.

Eager to see the rest of the house, Raven abandoned her videotapes and went to explore the house.

One bedroom sparsely adorned with a queen sized bed and two dressers, one small bathroom with a tiny window overlooking the ocean, and one kitchen/dining room furnished from wall to wall with 60's era appliances, novelties, and furniture. This is what Raven would be living with for an undetermined period of time.

She opened the fridge to see it fully stocked with plenty of food and drinks. Almost everything was organic and clearly top quality. Another impressed whistle. Dang, Tony sure was generous. Either that, or he was just trying to rub his richness in her face; but whatever: Free food right?

A sudden crashing of waves alerted Raven once again of her close proximity to the ocean. Slamming the fridge shut, she ran over to the back door and slid the heavy glass open.

Everything that was the beach hit her in full force as soon as she took a step onto her vast sea foam green porch. The sunlight beat down upon the black jumpsuit wearing woman so hard that she unzipped the clothing all the way down to her navel, pulling the roasting leather off the top half of her body and revealing her black bra. Seagulls called to her, laughing at her foolishness for wearing such an offending outfit into paradise.

She hadn't gone swimming in the ocean since she was a little girl, much less step on the sand. Even on her annual trips to visit her mother, all she did was visit the graveyard and come home.

She took a look from side to side. There were no wandering eyes, no other buildings for miles around. Why not go swimming in her underwear?

Raven bent over and removed her boots. She pulled the jumpsuit off of her skin, realizing now just how much she had been sweating. The sunlight wrapped her naked skin up in a warm embrace of a thousand tiny arms. She smiled happily before bolting off of her deck.

She ran with shocking speed, her legs pumping furiously beneath her, across the white sand. She did not hesitate at the edge of the crashing blue waves. She ran until the water reached her thighs before diving in, not losing even a minute of momentum.

The shock of the cold ocean water temperature hit her instantly as she resurfaced. She gasped as she paddled to maintain her balance in the rolling waves. She looked at her house, which looked even smaller from this angle, and saw a figure clad in a black and red jumpsuit waving at her.

A sudden wave pushed the distracted girl under and, upon her resurfacing, she discovered it was just an illusion.

With a frown, she rolled onto her back, floating and rocking on the surface of the rolling waves. He would've loved it here. With no houses or people around, it would be perfect for the disfigured mercenary to walk about unmasked and unclothed without judgement.

The pale skin on her cheek instantly turned red and Raven sunk back into the cool water. It's not as if she hadn't thought about Wade naked before, but every time she did it made her blush. She wasn't even sure she would know what to do if their relationship ever made it to that level; which, knowing Wade, would be relatively soon.

Upon her resurfacing, Raven began her swim back to shore. Her teeth chattered incessantly due to her lack of exposure to naturally chilled water. She didn't want to get out of the water, yet, but she had made a promise to Wade.

Back in New York, Deapool entered his apartment with a loud groan. The most recent contract he was just on put him on a wild goose chase for some guy who managed to get his hands on a bunch of experimental drugs that were going to be used to treat cancer. What he thought would be an easy search and retrieve mission, ended up being a huge mess that took him all over New York. Turned out, his target had a lot of friends. Big friends. Big friends with lots of guns and lots of sharp objects.

His door slammed behind him and the mercenary immediately planted his ass on his ratty armchair. Already, his incredibly horny upstairs neighbors were already getting busy. He scowled upwards at them enviously.

Thankfully, his computer rang, notifying him of an incoming Skype.

_**"It's our woman!"**_

_"How do you know?"_

**_"She's the only one who Skypes us."_**

_"Oh yeah. GET UP, MAN!"_

Deadpool groaned and willed his sore muscles to move the rest of his body into his bedroom where his computer rested. True, it wasn't the most modern piece of technology, but it served its purpose; though it was a bit laggy when it came to video chatting.

_"Anything for our princess, right?!"_

"Right!" Deadpool agreed, hitting the 'enter' key.

"Oops!" he exclaimed, whipping off his mask before Raven's face appeared on the screen. She hated it when he covered up, that much he knew for sure.

"Wade?" she asked "Can you hear me, ok?"

An energy filled smile covered Wade's face and a newfound sense of renewal rushed through his body. Yeah, he was exhausted from his contract today and had them lined up back to back for the next couple of weeks in order to earn enough to visit Raven, but damn just seeing her face breathed new life into the mercenary.

"Yeah, I can hear you." he responded, squinting his eyes at the screen. Her hair was clearly wet and matted against her face. Her teeth chattered in a painful looking way as she pulled a huge sky blue comforter tighter around her. He could even see her lips appeared to be a faint blue.

"Damn girl, y'all got freezing rain over in paradise city?"

She laughed. He loved that laugh, although he had to admit it was a bit cuter when she was just a few snips from having her voice back. It sounded like a dog trying to bark after it had its vocal cords clipped.

"No. Quite the opposite, actually." Gwen explained "Hence why I decided to take a swim."

Hm, just like in his dream. Gwen, swimming in clear blue water clad in nothing but an itsy Bitsy black bikini. Gwen, emerging from said water and walking towards him with bedroom eyes. Gwen, laying down on the warm sand, stretching out to plant a kiss on his cheek. Gwen, her hands roaming all over his body, eventually reaching down into his-

"Wade? Wade? You hearing me?" she asked, snapping her fingers in front of her webcam. He nodded furiously.

"Yeah. Just thinking about you wet has got me all hot and bothered." he replied,fanning his face with an open palm.

"Well, if that's got you excited, wait until you see the house Tony got for me to live in!" she exclaimed, abruptly lifting her laptop off of whatever surface she was using.

Wade watched in silence, minus an occasional comment now and then, as Gwen rushed around the house. She showed him pretty much every inch of the place, which wasn't much by far. However, she seemed oddly excited about it.

**_"Hopefully she'll be that excited when she moves into our place."_**

_"Wait, she's moving in with us?!"_

**_{"Eventually, nit wit."}_**

"Hopefully soon." Wade muttered, checking his decrepit surroundings with his peripherals. This place didn't need a woman's touch; it needed a woman's bitch slap.

"Hopefully soon what?" Gwen asked.

"Hopefully I'll get to see you soon." he quickly replied "I miss ya, babe."

She gave him an endearing look.

"Aw, I miss you too, honey."

A quick ring of the doorbell alerted Gwen that it was time to wrap this conversation up.

"Alright. Gotta go. Tony sent some guy to pick me up and get me all settled in."

"Some guy". Wade didn't like the sound of that. Even if the guy was the ugliest guy on earth, if he was mentally stable and unscarred then that was enough competition for Wade.

"Alright. You run along now, babe." Wade replied with a fake smile. Gwen returned it, none the wiser about his true intentions. She blew him a kiss before shutting her laptop, ending their conversation.

Back in California, Raven rushed to answer the door, not even bothering to dress herself.

Upon opening the door, Raven found a shy looking man with brown hair. He stood there dressed in a nice white button up shirt, corduroy jacket, and purple slacks. Interesting choice of dress, but going from that she had to assume he was a single nerdy type.

He seemed shocked that she had answered the door so quickly.

"Let me guess, you're the guy Tony sent to take me to day care?" she asked. The man laughed and ran his hand through his thick hair.

"I guess. Actually, I'm gonna be your doctor." he held out his hand "Dr. Bruce Banner."

Ah, Dr. Bruce Banner; better known as the Incredible Hulk. Raven never understood just why the citizens decided to give him the title of 'incredible' since his gargantuan size and lack of tact had created large amounts of collateral damage, which cost taxpayers millions. Boy, was she glad she didn't pay taxes anymore.

"Wow. Now I've got two of the Avengers taking care of me. Tell me, do you accept Medicaid?" she joked, trying to lighten the mood. Dr. Banner laughed and shook his head.

"No need." he replied "Tony is providing the funding and so is-"

Raven held up her hand.

"Save the finance talk, doc." she gave him a wink "Just let me know if I should write you in as my primary care physician or not."

He laughed. No, he wasn't that kind of doctor and he was certain Raven knew that; she was just being a smart ass.

"I was told you and Deadpool are dating. I'm guessing you give him a run for his money with that mouth of yours." he joked. Raven rolled her eyes.

"Actually, to be honest, I was never really like this until I met him." she explained "I was actually kind of a killjoy. He saved me from myself, I suppose."

Bruce rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"I never thought I'd see the day where someone would actually call that insane man-child a hero."

Minutes later, they were speeding down the road in a flashy maroon sports car that Tony lent them for these purposes. Even though Tony seemed so keen on keeping Raven's existence and testing a secret from the press, his need to show off his flashy personality seeped into his plans; not that Raven was complaining. With the cool wind blowing through her hair, moving her hand up and down in the wind, she had no worries.

A sudden asshole in a blue minivan suddenly cut them off once they hit the main road, causing Bruce to slam on the breaks.

"Asshole!" Raven shouted, her eyes catching sight of one of those stick figure family stickers and a baby on board sign "Oh great! And you've already procreated! How much do ya wanna bet that this asshat was on his phone?!"

She looked over at her driver, surprised to see him surprisingly calm. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously from underneath her aviators. Anger was supposed to trigger the Hulk's visit, right?

"How are you doing that?" she asked.

"Doing what?" he replied, taking his eyes off the road for a minute. He nodded in realization when he realized what she was getting at.

"Ah, keeping my green friend locked up." he returned his eyes to the road "It's kind of a funny thing."

"Ohhhh, I love funny things." Raven giggled "Tell me!"

"I'm always angry." Banner said, shifting the car into another gear and whipping around the minivan mischievously.


	20. Chapter 20

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, any of the X-Men, or anything referenced here that may be from a movie, book, etc. I do own Raven, though! Enjoy!_

* * *

Only two weeks had passed since that day. True to Tony's hunch, there were trace amounts of unknown chemicals in Raven's blood. However, out of all the tests they performed, none of them indicated that they were particularly harmful to the mutant woman's mental or physical health.

But what the tests did show was something else entirely.

By using high tech brain scanners, they were able to discover that the chemicals magnified almost all of Raven's emotions ten times above normal human capacity. Not only that, but due to the increased chemical reactions in the brain, that produced such chemicals such as adrenaline and oxytocin, it increased her strength, speed, agility, etc. to almost superhuman levels. However, this only occurred when she was under intense physical strain in situations such as running great distances or in physically strenuous situations.

None of these were enough to force Raven to stay for any more tests. And, in a week, she would be returning home to New York. However, before she would return, Raven would stay an extra three days.

Why?

Because she was invited to Tony's annual Halloween ball. It would be the richest party she had ever attended. Actually, it would be the only real party she had ever attended. And, to make things even better, Deadpool would be arriving today and staying for the remainder of her time in Malibu.

The distance, although trying on each member of the couple, did not prevail over the two of them. In fact, it seemed to make them stronger. Even though he wasn't physically there, Raven could feel it more and more. He was the one. That special guy she learned about in Sex Ed. The guy who made the thought of sex seem like something more than just a raw fulfillment of baser desires. And this weekend, they were going to do it.

She could hardly wait. From what Pepper had told her, it would be a combination of a puzzle that has found its missing piece and taking a ride on Aladdin's magic carpet all at the same time. Well, that is, if the partner knew what they were doing.

Right now, she waited in the parking lot of the airport with her arms crossed, hoping Deadpool would appreciate her change of outfit. Clad in Blue Jean cut offs, tight white midriff, and black low top Chuck Taylor's, Gwen really did look like a typical all American girl instead of a dark possible assassin.

As Deadpool exited the airplane, he couldn't help but wonder if waiting to see Raven again really went by as quickly as he thought or if the writer was just getting lazy with her plot.

**"Hey, I'm not getting lazy. I just decided to change my mind about how intensive I wanted Tony and Bruce to be involved in the story!"**

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, lady." Deadpool replied to his current progenitor as he picked up his bags from baggage claim "You don't see me complaining."

And who would complain? An entire three days free of any work; just relaxing on the beach with his super hot girlfriend, who totally wanted him. Whatever the author was planning, so far didn't matter to Deadpool.

_"Oh! Maybe she's gonna give us a mansion and a billion dollars and a tiger that breathes fire that we can ride into battle and-"_

**_"And a clue? Be grateful and watch what you say. Things have been going well and remember, what the writer giveith, the writer takeith away."_**

"Speaking of which..." Deadpool mumbled to himself, his eyes scanning the area for his girlfriend "Where is short, dark, and sexy anyways?"

Through the crowds of colorfully clothed people, one would think that finding a ghostly pale woman clad in tight black leather from head to toe would be a relatively easy task. However, one would be wrong.

"Dammit. Shit. Fuck. I hate people." the Merc with a Mouth grumbled as he tried to make his way through the crowds of people. He was used to this many people back in New York, but thanks to the strict air safety laws, he was forced to leave all of his threatening weaponry at home. Now, he just looked like some freak in a red and black jumpsuit.

_"Hey! Who's that?"_

_**"Who's who?"**_

_"That girl over there! With the black hair and awesome aviator sunglasses.")_

_**"The one next to the red Stingray?"**_

_"Yeah!"_

"No way! Guys, that's Raven!" Deadpool exclaimed. Sure enough, the girl pulled out a huge sign from seemingly out of nowhere and waved it around.

"Kinda hard to miss that." he murmured before pushing people vigorously out of his way, shouting "'Scuse me! Pardon me! Comin' through! Move it people! I got connections with the lady who can write all of you out of existence! Now move!"

Men, women, children, and even the elderly were shown no mercy against the amazing pushing and shoving powers of the mighty Deadpool. His eyes were locked on his target and there was nothing that could get in his way.

Malibu certainly did treat Raven well. Her skin wasn't ghostly pale anymore, but now had a healthy looking tan. Her dark hair was pulled to the side in a loose ponytail and was no longer pin straight, but waved slightly due to the large amount of time she had been spending in the ocean. She even abandoned her costume for civilian clothes.

_"Sexy civilian clothes."_

Deadpool giggled and ran over to meet her. Before he could even say her name, she was in his arms. He lifted her slightly and spun her around a bit.

"Wade! I missed you so much!" she exclaimed, kissing his masked lips. He rolled his eyes and set her back down on the ground.

"You sure you really missed me or are those chemicals making you think you missed me." he joked, earning a playful smack to the back of his head.

"Shut up, dick head!" she countered "You know I missed you! Now hurry up and get your bag in here so we can get this party started!"

"So, where'd you get the new wheels? Didn't steal it from Iron Douche, did you?" Deadpool asked as they sped down the highway. Raven laughed as the wind whipped through her hair.

_"Damn, she is so hot!"_

"Nah. He lent it to me, since it really doesn't matter how low of a profile I have here. Now that all of the experiments are all done." she explained. Deadpool reached over and pinched her cheek.

"My adorable little lab rat." he cooed affectionately. Raven rolled her eyes and pushed her foot down on the gas. There was a lot she wanted to with Deadpool and not much time to do it.

They pulled into the driveway of Raven's tiny house a bit before dinnertime. Raven's heart was pounding. She had everything planned out. First, they would go swimming, then she would make dinner, and then Raven would tell Deadpool she had a present for him. A very special present. A present so big and great, that she couldn't even get it out of her bedroom. And then, while her mentally unstable boyfriend was looking for the gift, she would drop all of her clothes and-

"This place sure is outta the way!" Deadpool commented as he exited the vehicle. Raven sighed and shook her head. Certainly not the comment she was expecting, since she had cleaned the whole place from top to bottom; making sure everything was perfect.

"Yeah, it is." she exited the vehicle as well "Tony and Pepper used to use this place when they wanted to get away. Now, I was thinking about buying it."

"You?!" Deadpool exclaimed as she unlocked the door and let him inside "With what money?!"

Raven smiled mischievously as she shut and locked the door behind her. If only he knew about her vast amounts of wealth she had saved up in Swiss bank accounts. Of course, those funds were only a small fraction of what she used to have before she pissed her US account away on cancer treatments.

"Never you mind about that, sugar." she said, turning to him with an excited smile "Now, I hope you brought your bathing suit because I thought we could go swimming!"

"Aw, babe...you know how sensitive my skin is in the sun." Deadpool replied. Raven giggled and ran over to him, pulling his mask off his head and tossing it into the living room.

"Ha! Ha! Very funny! Now seriously, take this suit off and let's go for a swim! It's just you and me out here!" she tried to find where the zipper to Deadpool's jumpsuit began. He snatched her wrists in his gloved hands and held them to her chest before she could make any progress.

"I'm not joking, babe." he told her, his voice awfully stern. Her face fell as she caught the look in his eye. Was that anger? Was he angry at her? Already? Raven felt as if she had just made a huge mistake.

And so did Deadpool.

_"Man, it looks like she's about to cry."_

**_"Say something! If she cries then there's no hope for this vacation to be a pleasant one!"_**

"But you still can, babe." he added, making his tone light and cheerful. He stroked the side of her face lovingly.

"Show me how nice you can doggy paddle and I'll take pictures from shore." he offered. Raven shook her head and pushed his hands away.

"No. It's fine." she said, heading into the kitchen "I'll just make some snacks and we can start watching movies a bit early. Why don't you go into the living room and pick out the first movie?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Deadpool replied, giving a mock salute even though she was no longer looking. She was disappointed; that much he knew. Obviously, she had something planned. Scented candles of various sizes and shapes were already pre lit around the house; a very risky move, especially with a house that isn't yours. Everything was remarkably clean and he didn't doubt that she had the fridge stocked up with his favorite foods and drinks.

**_"We have to make sure the rest of this weekend goes how she planned it!"_**

_"Yeah! I hate seeing her face all disappointed like that!"_

"Agreed." Deadpool mumbled as he knelt down and went through all the VHS tapes.

"Wow, VHS.!" he called into the kitchen "Now these take me back!"

"Uh-huh." she called back over the sound of chopping vegetables "They're really the only thing worth watching out here since the TV doesn't really get a lot of stations."

"So much for the always up to date technology of Stark Inustries." Deadpool snorted. He heard the beeping of a microwave and the sound of chips being opened before the sweet cheese aroma slammed his nostrils.

"Yeah, well, a little birdie told me that this place wasn't really used for TV watching." Raven replied, entering the room with a bowl of homemade queso in one hand and a bowl of tortilla chips in the other. Deadpool's mouth immediately started salivating. He had been waiting so long for Raven's cooking it wasn't even funny.

"Ew, that's a bit nasty. And by I bit, I mean a lot." he commented as she flopped down onto the the couch, setting the chips and queso on the coffee table "Who knew birds were such perverts!"

Raven rolled her eyes and kicked her shoes and socks off under the table. She dipped a chip into the queso and popped it into her mouth. She smiled in satisfaction as her taste buds registered the perfection that was her Mexican cheese dip. The dark haired girl could handle a little hiccup, but ,from the looks of it, it seemed as if it would be smooth sailing from here on out.

"Ohhhh! This one is a great one! A Canadian classic!" Deadpool cheered, holding up a Dudley Do-Right tape. Raven rolled her eyes and smiled, highly doubting that many Canadians regarded this movie as a Canadian classic; especially with Brendan Fraser as the lead. But what really mattered was this Canadian.

"Alright, alright. Put it in." she replied.

"That's what she said." Deadpool giggled, crawling up onto the couch next to his girlfriend after inserting the tape. He curled up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. God, he missed this.

"So, then I said 'Insanity is relative. It all depends on who has who locked in what cage.'!" Gwen exclaimed. Wade laughed, taking another swig of beer. They had been sitting out on her back porch eating dinner and drinking excessively for the past couple of hours now and, he had to admit, it was surprisingly enjoyable to just sit here and exchange stories. Turns out, Raven had turned into a bit of a snark machine since her departure from New York. It was awesome.

"Well, on behalf of all the mentally ill community, I thank you!" Wade replied, holding his bottle up in a toast. Gwen clinked her bottle against his, laughing all the while.

"Speaking of insanity though...have you had any more nightmares?" he asked. Gwen shrugged and looked out to the sea.

"Of course, Wade." she answered "But I learned how to control them."

"Oh yeah? How?" Wade asked. Gwen grinned. She had come up with the idea after Pepper told her one of the many times Tony had swooped in to save her from death.

"Well," she said, reaching across the table to hold his gloved hand "It's really easy when you have a superhero to swoop in and save you."

Wade snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I think you're getting me confused with Spiderman." he retorted "People do that from time to time."

"I'm being serious!" Gwen shouted, smacking Wade playfully on the arm "Besides, I don't even know Spiderman."

"Yeah, sure."

"Wade Wilson, you have done more for me than you could ever know." she confessed. He rolled his eyes, his brow furrowing. She didn't doubt he was listening to the voices in his head, but she had something that would get rid of all of that. Something that would prove to him just how much of a hero she thought he was.

"I want you to close your eyes." she instructed "I got you something, but it's a surprise."

Wade snapped out of his daze at the mention of 'surprise'. He loved surprises and could only imagine what Gwen got him this time. He complied with her orders, feeling her pull him up from his seat and lead him back into the house.

_"Oh! Maybe this time it's a race car!"_

_**"What is with you and race cars?!"**_

_"Cuz race cars are fucking awesome!"_

"Ok, open them!" she said. He blinked, opening his eyes, seeing nothing, but a virtually empty room. No present. Nothing much, really. Just a pretty large bed and a dresser.

"Gwen, I think somebody might've-" he stopped mid sentence as he turned around.

There she stood, his black haired beauty, with her clothes pooled around her feet; wearing nothing, but a bright red lacy bra with matching panties. She had one finger in her mouth, chewing on the edge of it nervously. It was all just too perfect. The curve of her breasts, the slight pudge at her belly, everything down to her red painted toenails sent his mind spinning.

**_"Better than a race car?"_**

_"A what car?"_

"Gwen, what are you-"

"You're my hero, Wade." Gwen confessed, pulling her finger from her mouth and taking a careful step towards the mercenary "You have no idea just how lost I really was until you burst into my life."

She took another step, surprised he hadn't said anything by now.

"I just wanted you to know." she was almost right in front of him now.

"Just how much." she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Of a hero you are to me." she whispered, brining his lips down in hers.

As soon as their lips touched, Wade just lost it. He kissed her with as much emotion as he could muster. His hands traveled all over her body like kids at their first theme park. All the while, her hands wandered too. Up and down his body, paying special attention to his dick as she did so.

He squeezed her breast extra hard, making her gasp so that he could stick his tongue into her mouth. God, she tasted so good right now: tacos and beer. He couldn't imagine any other woman making such an usual combination so sexy.

_"Man, this is great! We're finally gonna get laid!"_

**_"It really has been too long, but oh good God she knows how to make up for lost time!"_**

_"You think she'll like what she sees? I mean, I hope she doesn't think that our dick is the only part of us that's unscarred."_

Dammit, brain, that is not the image he needed in his head right now. But seriously, what if she didn't like it? What if she thought that it was only his face that was scarred and couldn't handle the horrible lesions that covered his body from head to foot?

She reached for the zipper of his costume, which she had must've found earlier, and began to pull down. But he stopped her before she could move the item down any further.

"Gwen, I really don't-"

"Save it." she replied, pushing him away. Oh boy, this wasn't good.

"I just don't want you to-"

"What? Don't want me to what? Not like what I see under there?" she exclaimed. Wade's mind raced with things to say to her to try and fix it.

_"Tell her it's not her, it's us!"_

_**"No! Girls hate that! You're just an insecure idiot!"**_

"Wade, I bared my heart and soul to you!" she yelled "You could have a freaking third arm under there and it wouldn't change anything! I want YOU, Wade Wilson! All of you! Good or bad, I want it!"

"Well, that's just dumb. I don't understand why you wouldn't still want it if it was bad." he replied, immediately regretting the words as they walked right out of his lips. Her dark eyes narrowed harshly.

"Would it help if I showed you what I have under here?" she asked, her voice eerily quiet, placing her hands where her lungs were "Cuz I'll do it. I'll show you. I'll go grab a knife and dig both of the cancerous hunks of flesh right out for you."

She stopped midrant and began to cough into a closed fist. Great, that must've been really sexy. She could even feel the blood travel up from her lungs, into her throat, out her mouth, and into her hand.

"Babe, let me help." Wade said, approaching to hold her like he always had through situations like these. She shook her head and pulled on her beach cover up that hung off her bed post.

"Save it." she spat "I need some time to think."

Shit, not good. That's one of the things Domino had said a few days before they broke up. 'Some time to think' usually translated into 'some time to think about how I'm going to dump you in the nicest way possible, even though it doesn't matter how nicely it's done cuz you're going to feel like shit afterwards'.

"Wait, Gwen, please don't-"

Her dark gaze made him shut his mouth immediately. He could see it in her eyes: the issue went deeper beyond him not opening up to her. She definitely had some deep rooted insecurity issues of her own and his rejection didn't help at all.

And before he could say another word, she was gone.

_"Fuuuuuuuuuu-"_

_**"Fuuuuuuuuuu-"**_

"Fuck."

Raven ran all the way to Malibu, slowing down once she was within city limits. She was actually thankful to her weird chemical imbalance for producing all that adrenaline to get her into the city at record time. She just wished she grabbed some shoes before running out.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket for the billionth time that evening. She knew who it was and why he was calling. He was afraid of losing her and, to be honest, she was afraid of losing him too. But she needed to cool down.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in."

"They just keep makin em prettier and prettier nowadays."

"And they keep wearing less and less too."

Great. Random street thugs. From the sounds of it, there seemed to be about four of them. She couldn't tell if they were unarmed or not, and to be honest she didn't care. If she just kept her head down and kept walking, maybe they would just leave her alone.

"Hey, mamí!" one of them whistled

"Oooo, caliente!"

"Ven aquí, puta!"

Alright, so now it was the name calling and demanding. Not the typical way to pick up a chick, and certainly not a way to get her to come talk to you voluntarily. But she highly doubted these gentlemen were interested in talking.

She could hear their footsteps behind her. Most of them wore construction boots and she wouldn't doubt if some of them had a steel toe. She cringed as she thought about just how much that would hurt to be hit with.

The sound of a switchblade unloading alerted her they were ready to start being forceful and she started sprinting again.

Her heart was pumping a million miles a minute as she ran with her persists close behind her. True, she had the ability to take all of these guys down, but she want confident she could do it without killing them. Killing them would defeat the purpose of trying to leave the mantle of a killer behind her.

However, it wasn't soon before she found herself in a sketchy alleyway. There were no exits; no way to go back out the way she came.

But her exit was being filled with four burly looking men. They each held a weapon; no guns, thankfully. They each had either a mask or a bandana to cover their face. Clearly, this wasn't their first rodeo. It made her blood boil.

"Aye, yai, yai, what a pretty lady!" one cooed.

"Such dark long dark hair, perfect for pulling, am I right, ese?"

They began to close in around her. For a moment, Gwen imagined what it would be like to be completely helpless like so many of the girls before her. It petrified her and sickened her. Four nobody guys who probably wouldn't do anything with their lives but menial labor were now in control over her physical, mental, and emotional well being of the night.

But then she remembered. She wasn't a helpless girl. She was Raven: an incredibly well trained and badass mercenary with a healing factor, chemical imbalance, and absorbing powers. She wasn't a mere human. She could take these guys, no problem.

She snatched one of the wrists of the first guy to reach for her and bent it back so it broke. The man fell to his knees and she brought her fist down onto his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold.

The others leapt into action, swinging at her clumsily with their weapons. They knew how to use these weapons against unarmed and untrained women, but were completely useless against such a highly trained mutant.

"Is this what you did to all those other girls?!" she yelled, kicking a knife out of one guy's hand. She caught it midair and threw it into the thigh of another guy. She grabbed him by his collar and brought her fist down on his face repeatedly, until he was unconscious.

"Looks like I'm getting enough revenge for all of us." she said with a wink. Raven took the rest of them relatively easily. Her adrenaline was pumping like crazy and probably would've caused some kind of heart attack if she didn't have a healing factor; and, to be honest, it felt good.

In about ten minutes, they were all taken down and laid bleeding around her feet. No, they weren't dead. Raven managed to maintain enough control to only beat them within an inch of their lives.

A presence behind her causes her to spin around and try to grab the hand reaching for her. The hand countered, dodging her attack. The owner of the hand stepped back as Raven continued her assault.

"Whoa! Ma'am, please, calm down." the voice of her target said "I really don't like fighting women."

Raven stopped, recognizing the sound of the voice.

"Captain?" she asked.

Sure enough, Captain America in his All-American glory stepped out from the shadows. The blonde haired, blue eyed man was the perfect specimen of a healthy human male. Perfect bone structure, perfect muscle tone, all wrapped into a perfect ladykiller. Too bad he was too much of a gentleman to take advantage od what the American government gave him. Men like him were few and far in between.

"I didn't think I would be seeing you out here so late." he told her. Raven nodded and shrugged, feeling the adrenaline fade away. This must've been something like what Bruce felt like when he transformed back into himself after being the Hulk.

"I didn't think I would be seeing you so far away from Brooklyn." she replied "Whatcha doin all the way out here?"

"I was invited to Tony's Halloween party. I thought it would be decent of me to go since we're members of the same team." he explained. She nodded.

"Ahhhh, I see." she replied. Over the course of her stay in Malibu, she had only seen the star spangled hero a grand total of three times. They had probably said a total of like ten words to each other. He was just too much of a goody goody for her.

"So, if you don't mind me asking again, what are you doing out here in the middle of the night?" he asked. Raven shrugged, touching her phone absentmindedly. It continued to vibrate even now.

"I kind of got into a fight with someone I care about from home and I think I overreacted." she answered. He nodded knowingly.

"Was it a guy?" he wondered. She nodded, surprised how keen he was.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Well, judging by how harshly you took those guys out..."his voice trailed off. Raven laughed and shook her head.

"That wasn't all just letting out my frustrations, ok. I just wanted to stop them from hurting anybody else." she retorted. He nodded, clearly not believing her. She rolled her eyes. She didn't need his approval or whatever. What she needed was to get home before Deadpool lost his mind...what little mind he had left.

"Alright then. So, anything else I can do for you, ma'am?" the Captain asked. She nodded.

"Yeah, make sure these scumbags get to the authorities." she told him, walking past him "I gotta get back home and get some beauty sleep."

Gwen entered her home and was immediately met with a frazzled Deadpool.

"Gwen, where were you?! I know you're mad at me, but there was really no need to let me freak out like-"

He was silenced by her lips on his. He blinked, watching her kiss him with confused eyes. Just a few hours ago, it looked like she was about to drop him like a hot muffin. Now, she was back on his lips.

"You're dress is torn! Are you alright? Did someone hurt you?" he asked when she pulled away for just a brief moment. She silenced him with another kiss.

_"Girls are weird."_

**_"Indeed."_**

"I'm sorry, Wade." she murmured, kissing his lips again "I know we've had this discussion before. No more of me trying to push you into showing me whatever's under that crazy outfit of yours. We can do it when you're ready."

"Me being ready isn't a problem, babe." he replied, pushing his lower half against hers "You making me worry all night is."

She rolled her eyes.

"Alright, alright. Next time I storm out, I'll make sure to keep you informed."

He chuckled and pulled her close to him, holding her face into his chest. She yawned and he thought it was the most adorable yawn he had ever heard.

"I'm sleepy, Wade." she murmured "Can't we cuddle in bed?"

"Yeah, just one quick question."

"Hurry up and ask." she yawned again "I just dont wanna fight anymore."

He smirked. It was exactly what he wanted too.

"We're...alright, right?" he asked "We're still together and junk?"

Gwen pulled away and kissed his lips softly.

"Of course we are." she replied, pinching his nose playfully "And junk. Now hurry up and take me to bed."

His smirk turned into a smile and he lifted her up into his arms bridal style. Before they even made it to the bed, she was already asleep. He laid her down on her side of the bed before taking his place next to her.

He had to admit, it was a lot more spacious in this bed than in her tiny twin sized bed. Just as he was about to get used to the space, however, Gwen rolled over and clung onto him. She snored softly, her long fingers grasping full of need at his clothes.

He automatically wrapped his arms around her, giving her an extra squeeze. It was like manna from heaven hearing that confirmation that they were still together. And, before he closed his eyes to follow her back into dreamland, he brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face and behind her ear. He wanted to see her face in the moonlight to give him strength to face his demons in his sleep

* * *

_Dude, did sex deprived Wade Wilson just cock block himself? Writer, seriously, just let them bone already._

**I DO WHAT I WANT!...and besides, I have a plan. Don't you worry you're pretty little heads about that! **


	21. Chapter 21

_Hey! Been wondering why this story is rated 'M' for mature, when nothing particularly "mature" has happened so far. Well, never fear! A chapter full of fluff and smut is here! And I must say, it's my first attempt at writing anything smutty, but please private message me if it isn't up to par. Not everyone needs to know about your sexual preferences!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X-Men, Deadpool, or anything else referenced in this chapter. I do own Raven & junk. Enjoy!_

* * *

In the morning, Wade woke up to find Gwen still sound asleep against his chest. It really felt like ten o'clock. So, why did the clock say seven?

_**"Because of a little thing called 'jet lag'."**_

"Oh yeah..." Wade mumbled to himself. It made sense, considering it would be the only way he would be able to wake up before Gwen.

As if on cue, she let out a loud snore and scratched her nose. He smirked. Even in her sleep she was adorable.

_"Maybe we can do something special for her before she wakes up so she knows we're sorry about yesterday.")_

_**"Yes, but what?"**_

He stroked the bare skin of her arm carefully; wishing he could touch her for real: without his gloves on.

_"Well, what does she like?"_

"She likes alcohol and tacos." Wade murmured, as to not wake his sleeping girlfriend "She loves playing a video games and watching movies. She's really good at drawing and loves to crochet."

_**"And from the looks of it she loves to be out in the sun!"**_

_"Don't forget how much she likes music and reading!"_

Wade silently laughed to himself and rolled back over onto his back. He couldn't believe how much he knew about this girl. Hell, outside of killing and how to make some basic 'man' foods, Wade didn't really know much about anyone.

_"Oh! Oh! Remember that one movie we watched last night?!"_

**_"Which one?"_**

_"The one where the guy served his lady breakfast in bed!"_

**_"Ah, yeah, the chic flick."_**

_"Well, why don't we do that?"_

"Excellent idea, brain!" Wade exclaimed really loudly. He slapped his hand over his mouth and looked over at Gwen; who remained sleeping soundly like a baby.

"I hope you like a shit ton of pancakes." he whispered to the sleeping woman.

Gwen woke up the next morning to the sound of food frying and the scent of maple syrup. She groaned and rubbed her face in her pillow. It wasn't time to get up yet.

Out of curiosity, Gwen lifted her head just to see what time it really was. The clock read ten thirty. Alright, so it was time to get up after all.

She rose and stretched, yawning into the empty space. She could've sworn that Wade was in the bed next to her. He must've been the one making all those noises and smells.

Gwen flung the sheets off of her and swung her legs out of bed. She remembered when she first moved here how bad the jet lag was on her. It must've been why he was up so early.

"Ohhhhhh! I'm makin breakfast for Gweny!" he sang, very loudly and very out of key "Cuz she's the best thing to ever happen to me! Ohhhhh, I want to make her so happy! That's why I'm making flap jackies!"

Gwen giggled and blushed. No, it wasn't the best song or the best singer. Just the fact he was doing it was enough. It reminded her of the times her own mother would make her breakfast in bed whenever they got into an argument the day before.

She rolled back into bed and pulled the sheets back over her. She didn't want to spoil his thoughtfulness; especially since he was resorting to singing.

"Wakey, wakey. Eggs n bakey." Wade cooed as he entered the bedroom with a plate of pancakes stacked so high they barely cleared the doorframe. There were two cups of chocolate milk also on the tray, along with a large red hibiscus with a black center.

Gwen giggled happily, adjusting her pillows so she could sit up comfortably.

"Hey, Gwen. Tough news about the eggs n bakey." he told her, sitting on the corner next to her "There are no eggs n bakey."

She giggled and immediately began to eat the meal set before her. Her lips parted into a smile as the unusually sweet pancake made its way over her taste buds and down into her gullet. Chocolate chips with strawberry syrup: her favorite breakfast combination. How on earth did he know that?

"That's just fine. I'm just happy you made all of this for me." she replied. Wade laughed and produced a fork from one of his many pockets.

"Who said these are just for you?" he joked "Hey, did you notice how I shaped the chocolate chips?"

Gwen shook her head, since her mouth was stuffed full of pancake.

"It's a heart." He revealed, his voice a bit disappointed "See?"

He pointed at the dark brown spots in the golden cakes with his fork. Not even one of the pancakes even had a single recognizable heart on it. She didn't doubt that he had tried though.

"Oh yeah! I see!" she exclaimed, not wanting to disappoint Wade again "I can tell cuz the top part looks like a pair of tits!"

God, this woman brought up tits without any prompting on his part. Wade immediately wrapped his arms around her, stroking his bald head against her shoulder like a cat.

"Finally! A woman who understands me!" he purred into her arm. She rolled her eyes and pushed him off of her.

"Yeah, whatever." shoveling another helping of pancakes into her mouth "We gotta get ready to go though, we've got a big day ahead of us!"

The candy apple red Stingray didn't pull back into the driveway of the tiny pink house until the sun had just disappeared from the sky. With bellies full of soda, cotton candy, funnel cake, and (of course) lots and lots of chimichangas, the pair walked arm in arm around the house and down to the beach.

It was Gwen's idea to go to Pacific Park. Ever since their first date at Coney Island, recreating that feeling was all she could think about. She had hoped it would help to make up for the time they had spent apart. So far, it seemed to have worked.

"You better watch out or I'm gonna throw you back in the water, my little mermaid!" Wade taunted as they drew closer to the shoreline. He playfully tugged the hand he was holding closer to the water.

Gwen laughed and tried to get out of Wade's grip; of course not really trying, but pretending to try. She had a happy sun balloon tied to her wrist as well as her face painted like the drummer from KISS to think about after all.

"And you better not unless you wanna be sleeping on the couch, prince charming!" she cried out. Deadpool smirked and spun Raven into his body.

"You think you can make me sleep on the couch?" he challenged. She looked up at him defiantly.

"I don't think I can." she retorted "I know I can." Wade laughed and leaned in close to her face.

Gwen, thinking she would be receiving a kiss, tilted her head up and puckered her lips slightly to receive it.

"Challenge accepted." the mischievous merc whispered before shoving the unsuspecting woman into the cold water.

The water enveloped the poor girl in a icy embrace, the combination of the tide and weight of her clothes pulling her under slightly.

She emerged, sputtering and wiping away her running makeup from her eyes. Her black eyes narrowed at her red clad boyfriend who was laughing maniacally from the safety and comfort of the shore.

"Haha! I can't believe you fell for that!" he laughed, wiping away imaginary tears from the corners of his eyes "That's what you get for challenging the mighty Deadpool!"

"You're going to be just the mighty Dead if you don't shut up and help me!" she yelled back at him. Deadpool laughed even harder and fell backwards onto the sand, making Raven angrier.

"I mean it!" she shouted, struggling to stand "You better help me or else your ass is on the couch!"

"Haha! Hey, is it cold in there? Looks pretty cold." he replied, sitting up. His eyes immediately became fixated on Gwen's chest, which thanks to the water, was displayed proudly from underneath the thin white fabric of her dress in the moonlight.

_**"Praise the gods! She didn't wear a bra today!"**_

_"Hubba! Hubba! I think it's time for us to motorboat those bad boys!"_

"Holy mother of tacos! Did somebody forget a bra today?" Wade exclaimed. Gwen crossed her arms, not understanding why he would think that. This dress had a built in bra so why would she have to put one on?

_"Oh Jeeze, she doesn't know. Don't tell her! Don't tell her!"_

**_"No! Tell her! See what happens!"_**

Wade remained quiet, giggling relentlessly; keeping his eyes fixed on her practically naked chest.

Out of curiosity, Gwen decided to look down. Her eyes widened in embarrassment at the sight of her naked breasts underneath her. Her dress didn't even really seem to serve a purpose. Plus, it didn't help her nipples were sticking straight out.

"Wade!" she shrieked, running out of the water at a surprising speed. Wade's laughter immediately ceased and he jumped up, making a break for the house.

_**"Run, man! She's gonna kill us!"**_

"Nah, nah, na boo boo!" he taunted her over his shoulder, "You can't catch me! I'm the- Ahhhh!"

She leaped up into the air and tackled him onto the sand. They began to wrestle around, each trying to get the leverage on the other.

_"And we were so close!"_

_**"It was nice knowing us!"**_

"Wish I could say the same." Wade pleaded "Let me go! Uncle! Aunt! Abracadabra! Open sesame seed bagel!"

Gwen rolled the mercenary over onto his back and straddled him. He flailed his hands around like a sissy girl. She could see his face was all scrunched up. It would look so much cuter without the mask.

She grabbed his wrists and pushed them up over his head, lifting his mask off in one fluid movement.

"Ahhhh! No! The light! It burns us!" Wade hissed in a spot on Golem voice "Release the Precious!"

Gwen rolled her eyes. True, he was adorable, but being on top of him like this and being able to feel him writhing beneath her awakened her baser instincts. It was about time to bring this inside.

She slammed her lips down on his without warning, releasing his wrists so she could pull his face closer to hers with both of her hands.

After a few moments, Wade caught onto what she was trying to do. He entangled one of his hands in her hair and grabbed her ass firmly in the other. She gasped and stuck her tongue in his mouth. He reciprocated, doing his second favorite bodily dance with another human being: the French Tongue Tango.

They parted minutes later, each panting heavily.

"Inside?" Gwen panted.

"Why yes, I'd love to come in. But I'd also like to go inside the house." Wade replied with a wink. Gwen giggled happily and kissed his lips again before running back to the house. Wade got up and was hot on her heels behind her. She knew there would be no horizontal mamboing tonight, but at this point she didn't care.

They crashed onto the bed with Wade on top. He peeled the white dress off of her body, whistling in approval as he did so. Her skin glowed amazingly in the moonlight, although he was starting to think that tan didn't really suit her; not that skin tone mattered that much to him right now. Here was a half naked, soaking wet, large breasted, naked woman who had her hands, lips, and even her legs all over him. Not much to complain about from a male perspective or female if you're into that sort of thing.

"You're tits are fucking awesome." Wade murmured as he kissed and sucked on Gwen's neck. She tightened her legs around him, grinding her lower half against his while desperately reaching to touch his hardened lower member.

She never imagined a simple touch, or touches in this case, could ever feel so good. Whether or not Wade actually knew what he was doing, he was perfuming excellently. His gloved hands nimbly touched and stroked her most sensitive areas, paying extra attention to her naked breasts. Her legs were shaking and she felt a warm sensation burning in her lower half. She needed release, but had no idea how to achieve it.

"Wade..."she breathed desperately "Wade, please..."

"Please what?" he asked, taking one of her breasts in his mouth. Gwen's breathing hitched for a moment, her fingers tightening and digging into his flesh through the fabric of his costume.

"P...p...p...please, give me something." she begged. He closed his eyes, incredibly pleased with how she was reacting and how the day was going so far.

_"Aw, come on dude! Just push those panties aside and get down to it!"_

**_"We can't do that! Gwen's not that kind of girl. She's special."_**

Deadpool smirked as he switched breasts, bringing forth more moans from his black haired partner. She certainly was special, maybe that why he felt so amazing doing this to her. It was more than sexual, he knew that. He felt like he was inches away from becoming a whole being. It was amazing.

"Please, Wade." she moaned, her eyes opening only halfway; practically sending the scarred mercenary over the edge. He had to do something, but there was no way he was going to show her the ground beef that was his body just yet.

_**"Well...there is that one thing...**_

_"What thing?"_

_**"That thing we did with Domino once."**_

_"Oh, you don't mean-"_

_**"Yes. I do mean-"**_

Wade gave the nipple he was sucking on one last nibble before pulling away.

Thinking that he was going to get undressed, Gwen sat up slightly covering her breasts with one arm.

"Wade, you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with." she said, her breathing still irregular from his touches. Wade gave her a cocky wink, leaning down to kiss her swollen lips gently.

"Who said I wasn't comfortable."he whispered before inching his way down her body, planting little tiny kisses as he went. Gwen groaned and laid back down, lifting her hips up to assist Wade in pulling the blue lace barrier between her special place and his sight off.

Never before in her life had she been exposed like this in front of anyone who wasn't family. She saw no reason to try to cover herself now; she just hoped it was everything he expected.

"Mmm" Wade murmured, kissing the insides of Gwen's thighs and keeping his eyes glued to the prize he just unveiled "I didn't know you shaved."

A loud hiss escaped Gwen's lips as Wade moved up and down her thigh, alternating between them equally. His breath occasionally crossed her wet pussy, making her breath hitch each time.

"You have to...when...when...you have to wear...such...skimpy swim wear." she managed to say back. Her head was spinning and she couldn't even see straight anymore.

"Oh, I'll keep that in mind." he replied, immensely pleased with himself. Her lack of experience made this whole situation way more enjoyable for the mercenary. Plus, unlike Domino, Gwen had no idea what he was planning to do.

Wade lowered his mouth over the taco he had been longing to taste since the first time he made that innuendo way back in Chapter 3.

Gwen's eyes shot open in a mix of both surprise and shock as he began to suck on her most sensitive area. She had never felt anything so good in her entire life. Nothing- not sheets fresh out of the dryer, not a back massage from a world class masseuse, not even the first bite of a s'more- could compare to this.

Her mouth formed a soft 'o' as she cradled Wade's head as he continued to lick, suck, and even bite the most sensitive area of the female form. She moved her hips against his own moving head. She couldn't get enough of this feeling and the best part was: the more he performed, the better it felt.

Occasionally, Wade's eyes would flash up to his girlfriend's face. Flushed of all color, minus a deep red that stained her cheeks, her face was probably the most beautiful he has seen so far. Her ample chest rose and fell quickly, accompanying each and every breath and moan that escaped her lips. She was so close, he could taste it; and that wasn't just a play on words.

He stuck a gloved finger inside of her, making her gasp once again. Oh yeah, she was close. Her walls were remarkably tight around his finger and the heat was just incredible.

"Jesus Christ, Wade!" she breathed, throwing her head back and pushing her hips up "Don't stop!"

Smirking and with his mouth still covering her clit, Wade began to pump his finger in and out of her. He was slow at first, but as his name kept escaping inside the desperate breathing of his girlfriend's lips, he was beginning to lose control. His name had never sounded better and he wanted to hear her say it more and more, just as she was right now.

Her hands pulled his face down closer to her womanhood. She felt so high; like she was riding on Cloud 9. Something was going to happen. She read all about it in Cosmo. The Big O.

"Oh God, Wade!" she shouted, all of her muscles tensing and fireworks exploding in front of her very eyes. This was definitely it. Complete ecstasy rushed through Gwen's body as her muscles began to relax.

"Oh God...Wade..."she sighed, releasing her death grip on his head, laying one arm across her forehead; which was surprisingly wet and hot.

Wade smirked, releasing her lower half with a loud pop. He licked his lips, relishing in the taste of her juices, and pulled his finger out of her. The Big O really was an amazing thing. Not just for her, but for him as well. Don't believe me? Check the evidence in Wade's pants.

With a loud sigh, Wade collapsed, panting next to her. Climaxing without actually having his dick in anything was certainly a new thing for the Merc with a Mouth, but it wasn't anything he was complaining about.

"I think...I found...my new...favorite...fruit..."he panted. Gwen giggled, and turned, wrapping her arms around him. She kissed his cheek thankfully.

"I might need to wash my suit tomorrow, though." he added. Gwen giggled again and squeezed him tight against her. Her first sexual encounter. And it was fucking awesome. Talk about a great ending to a great day, right?

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Misery Loves Its Company by RJA_

_Pretty much anything by Barry White or Marvin Gaye _


	22. Chapter 22

_Whoa! Here's another fluffy chapter! Shoot me now!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or any songs/movies/games/etc. used/referenced. I do own Raven. Enjoy!_

* * *

"I'm walkin' on sunshine! WHOA! I'm walkin' on sunshine! And damn it feels good! Hey!" Gwen's voice echoed through the tiny house from the one bathroom over the rushing waters of the shower.

Wade sat on top of the washing machine, wearing one of his spare uniforms. A huge stupid smile was plastered on his scarred face as he swung his legs back and forth. Who knew a single intimate moment could make a woman so happy?

_"Yeah! Domino always went back to being serious the morning after we ever had sexy time with her!"_

_**"Maybe it's because we're her first."**_

That just made Wade's grin become even sillier. He was her first. Her first boyfriend, her first kiss, her first sexual encounter; it was amazing how she thought of him worthy enough to be her first. Especially since he was so used to being second, or last rather.

_"If you ain't first, you're last! Haha!"_

The machine stopped and Wade rolled his eyes, hopping off his seat. He took his soaking wet uniform out and walked outside to the clothesline.

"Damn, this place sure is peaceful." Wade commented, pinning up his uniform. There were no honking cars or screaming people out here. No stinky, clogged up plumbing or mold out here either. Nobody to point and mock at his scarred face out here. Just calming waves, chattering seagulls, and a cool breeze.

"I can't see me lovin' nobody, but you for all my life! When you're with me, baby, the skies are blue for all my life!"

Oh, and Gwen. Wade smirked and turned to walk back in the house, when he noticed one of the smaller windows was open and emitting a lot of steam. An evil grin crossed his face.

**_"No way. It's too good to be true."_**

_"Shhhh! Don't question it! The writer could take it away! Or worse...turn Gwen into an old dude!"_

Wade cringed at the thought as he crept towards the window.

Peeking through, he almost squealed with glee when he saw Gwen singing and dancing in the shower. Shampoo ran down her black locks and onto her tanned skin, moving with her as she bounced and shook; using a loofa as a microphone.

Wade smirked and knocked on the windowsill, making her jump and drop her mic.

"Hey there, hot stuff. Can I make a request?" he asked "Can you sing Milkshakes by Kelis?"

"Ahhhhh! Get out, Wade!" she shrieked, slamming the window shut and pulling the blinds down. Wade laughed, sliding down the wall of the house and looking out into the horizon. Sure enough, Gwen started singing again.

He smiled as he stood up and retreated back into the house. Gwen wasn't half bad as a singer. In fact, Wade had already fantasized about becoming her agent and touring around the world with her like Britney Spears. He quickly killed that fantasy when he realized that she would probably cheat on him with a super hot guy like Ryan Reynolds.

_"Isn't he the guy who played us in that one movie?"_

_**"Let's not talk about that movie."**_

"Raven isn't the kind of person to do that anyways." Deadpool mumbled to himself as he flopped on the couch and turned on the tv.

"-And tonight is the long awaited Halloween ball hosted by Tony Stark. Stark promises that it's certainly going to knock the socks off all the previous balls." a news lady said before a clip of the billionaire started playing.

"Oh yeah, the zombie Cinderella ball is tonight." He commented as he watched footage of the previous years balls roll by on the screen.

**_"We didn't bring a costume."_**

_"Gwen's gonna be pissed."_

"We could always go as a burn victim." Wade joked.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Gwen's not so amused voice said from behind. Wade turned to see her taking her hair down out of it's t-shirt turban.

"I knew you would forget to bring a costume." she stated, sauntering over to the couch "So I got you one."

"Oh! Please tell me it's a Wolverine costume!" he exclaimed. Gwen rolled her eyes and twirled her still damp hair in her fingers.

"Not quite. C'mon, let's go try it on." she held out a hand to him. Wade took one last look at the tv before taking her hand.

"Dude, this is lame." Deadpool complained "I wanna be Wolverine!"

"C'mon! The Phantom of the Opera is so cool!" Raven insisted, stomping her foot. Deadpool rolled his eyes and stared at his face in the bathroom mirror. Only half of his scarred face was covered by a white mask and he wore a fancy black suit with a red carnation in the lapel on his body.

"I feel like that guy from Sailor Moon." he whined. Raven laughed from the other side of the door.

"Tuxedo Mask?! No way! The Phantom is totally more manly than that pansy!"

"Pfft. Not by much." Deadpool snorted. Raven sighed irritably. She had a feeling Wade wouldn't want to wear this costume; especially since it would show off half of his disfigured face, but she really liked it. Well, she mostly liked the idea of Wade in a suit, even if he wore his Deadpool costume underneath.

She caught sight of his mask, hung up comically over a lampshade in her bed room. Raven quickly went over to retrieve it.

As she held the soft fabric in her hand, stroking her thumbs over it, she reflected back on Wade's past and what made him into what he is today.

In a weird way, she had got off easy. She still had her memories intact. Her accelerated cancer growth only affected her insides and didn't scar her entire body from head to toe. She didn't have voices in her head. All in all, she was relatively normal.

Wade, on the other hand, lost everything: his past, his looks, his mind. His loudmouth and erratic ways made making any real, lasting connection almost impossible. And the worst part is: it would never end for him. He would live on until the end of days like this. He would be forced to watch everyone he knew and cared about grow old and die while he lived his fucked up life until the end of time.

Then it clicked. The mask didn't just hide his scarred face; it his his true self. How had she not seen it before? He had always acted so differently around her without his mask on. Half of a white plastic mask just wasn't going to cut it.

"Hey, Wade. I've got an idea on how to make your costume more manly." Gwen called, skipping back over to the bathroom door. Wade cracked open the door and poked his head out. Regardless of what he felt, Gwen would always find this disfigured face attractive.

She held his mask out to him.

"How about you wear this underneath the white one?" she suggested "That way you can be the Phantom of the Pool."

His eyes lit up and he snatched his mask from her fingertips, slamming the door behind him.

"Excellent idea, my fair lady!" he exclaimed as he shuffled around the bathroom "I shall be the handsome and stunning Phantom of the Pool and you can be my beautiful muse Gwentine!"

Gwen snorted at the horrible fusion of her own name with the name of the leading lady of her favorite musical.

"Actually, Wade, I've got a costume of my own." she replied. Deadpool exited the bathroom, almost making Raven swoon with how nice he looked in a tux.

"Don't tell me you're going to be Wolverine!" he whined. Raven giggled and rolled her eyes. No, she wasn't going to be Wolverine. She was going to be something else entirely. It was a costume she, along with Bruce and Tony, had been working in for weeks. She had designed it with Wade in mind.

"Well, I guess you'll have to see tonight." she replied with a playful wink. Deadpool groaned loudly and stomped his feet angrily. Raven approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his masked lips sweetly. He continued to frown and tried to stay angry, but after a few minutes relented to her; kissing her back with his hands resting on her hips gently.

"Gwentine, if you don't hurry up I'm leaving without you!" Deadpool, or rather the Phantom of the Pool, shouted from the front door "There is no way I'm missing my first celebrity hoedown because you're taking too much time to put your face on!"

Raven closed her eyes as she sprayed more hairspray onto her hair.

"I would've been ready if somebody didn't chase me into the kitchen and force me to make tacos!" she called back, adding some more dripping blood to the corners of her eyes "Besides, it's called a hootenanny!"

"Hootenanny! Hoedown! Whatever it is, we're gonna be late if you don't- whoa."

Raven emerged from the bathroom nervously. Her costume wasn't a conventional skank costume that ladies her age seemed to love to don on this day. It was a vintage dress from the 40's that she had picked up from a local thrift shop with Pepper. However, she had it altered by using state of the art technology to take a picture of her lungs and form it into the dress. She painted her face and parts of her exposed body to look like rotting flesh and added some dripping blood for an extra gross factor. The only thing that was remotely normal about her was her perfectly coiffed hair.

"Does this make me a necrophiliac?" Deadpool asked when she was right next to him "Because I don't know how I feel about that?"

Raven giggled and kissed his cheek.

"Yes, it does." she replied "Now let's get going."

As they sped down the dark roads of Malibu, Deadpool couldn't help but catch a glimpse at his girlfriend. True, even in 1940's zombie form, she was still hot. But why would she purposefully try to look like a rotten piece of flesh?

"And I just can't wait to be king! Doo de de doo doo de doo de doo!" Raven sang, drumming her newly zombified hands on the driving wheel happily. Damn, she really spared no expense on this get-up.

_"I wonder where she got all the cash to put this all together?"_

**_"She's been living here and rubbing elbows with billionaire Stark. He probably got it for her."_**

_"There's no way she got close enough to him for him to buy her all this stuff. I mean, this is like blockbuster movie quality shit!"_

**_"Hm, you have a point."_**

Raven never mentioned what happened to her after she left Cable. All she said was that she worked a series of odd jobs for a while until she found out about the cancer.

_"You think she was a drug dealer?"_

**_"No way."_**

_"Well, how the hell else would she be able to buy all this?"_

"Ah! This is, like, my first party ever!" Raven shrieked "I'm so excited!"

"Aw, I thought last night was your first party ever." Deadpool joked, giving her a wink. Her blush was clearly evident even underneath all of her makeup.

"Not that kinda party, Wade, jeeze." she countered, turning the car right "I just hope I don't do anything embarrassing."

"Like roll up blasting the soundtrack to the Lion King as loud as you can?" Deadpool asked. Raven stopped looking at the road to give him a strange look. He sighed and took Raven's iPod.

"Look you gotta blast music so these rich people don't eat you alive!" he said, picking a song. The bass was so high, it made the speakers shake.

"They see me rollin'" the Merc rapped "They hatin'. Patrollin' and tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty!"

Raven grinned and slowed the car down to a smooth cruise.

"Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty! Tryin' to catch me ridin' dirty!" she sang with him.

As they pulled into the half moon driveway of the hotel, she knew everyone was staring. A zombie woman driving a bright red car blasting Chamillionaire with a loudmouth mercenary flashing gang signs screamed anything, but subtle.

"Here you go, sir, careful not to scratch her. She's my baby girl!" Raven told the valet, tossing him her keys as she walked arm in arm with Deadpool into the hotel.

"Yeah! And if I see one scratch on it, I'll smash your face into the pavement!" Deadpool shouted in his best black guy voice and throwing up more gang signs "EAST SI-I-I-IDE!"

Raven erupted into a fit of giggles as they entered the elevator.

"I never thought I'd see the day when I'd hear the Phantom of the Opera speaking in ebonics." she chuckled.

"Well, you see, shawty, dats cuz you never rolled wit a thug from the east coast befo'" he replied, in his same voice. Raven laughed even harder, holding onto one of the railings for support.

"But you're white! And from Canada!"

Deadpool deflated and slumped his shoulders.

"Aw, girl, why you gotta do me like that?"

Raven chuckled and shook her head, preparing to say something witty in response, but stopped by the elevator doors opening.

"Wooooow!" she gasped. The ballroom of the hotel was immense. Candles held by fishwife hung from the black ceiling and a disco ball spun over the dance floor. Servers dressed as various horror icons meandered through the throngs of people carrying various scary looking foods and drinks. Fog machines created a fine mist across the floor, making the room look both fabulous and absolutely creepy.

"Hey, it's the girl who my girlfriend is going to leave me for!" Tony's voice called out as he pushed through the crowds of people. He was dressed in his Iron Man suit and held a French maid costumed Pepper on his arm.

"Just kidding." he said, when they were within comfortable speaking distance "I'm freaking Iron Man."

"Yes, I see. How come you didn't dress up? Where's your Halloween spirit?" Raven asked, after giving Pepper a hug.

"Dude, you have any idea how many kids would kill to be dressed the way I am right now?" he retorted "Iron Man is like the best costume in the world."

"Eh, I don't know." Deadpool commented "I just don't think it looks like the real Iron Man. Looks kinda like you made it in your garage."

"Ah, Deadpool. Figured you would show up. Dressed as..."his voice trailed off as he looked at Raven's date up and down.

"My apologies," Deadpool bowed politely "The Phantom of the Pool, at your service, Master Stark."

Pepper giggled and grabbed a couple of green martinis with eyeballs instead of olives from a passing tray. She handed one to Raven who smiled in appreciation.

"I didn't think you would be able to get him into that costume. Good job." the red head said, holding up her glass. Raven clinked hers against it.

"It took some finagling, but whatever." she sipped the bitter liquid "At least he looks good."

Pepper chuckled and nodded.

"I have to admit. He cleans up nicely."

"Dawhhh, stop it you two. You're making me blush." Deadpool interjected with a feminine flick of the wrist. Tony tugged on Pepper's arm subtly.

"Look, we gotta go mingle, but you two enjoy the party alright?" Pepper said, before being dragged off by her boyfriend.

"Free booze, awesome music, and an absolute guarantee that I'm going home with the hottest chick in this place!" Wade shouted back "What's not to like!?"

Raven giggled and downed the rest of her drink with a grimace. Martini's weren't really her favorite drink. It was time to get into this shindig and find something better to drink.

A couple of hours and many drinks, dances, and appetizers later, Raven and Deadpool found themselves doing some mingling of their own.

"I'm so glad to see you came out, Bruce!" Raven exclaimed. Bruce smiled shyly and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, me too." he replied "Parties like this really aren't my thing."

"I'm just surprised you didn't come as your green friend." Deadpool added "It would've made for a much more interesting look."

"Hey! I think Dr. Jekyll is a perfect costume!" Raven admonished, smacking her date on the arm. Bruce smiled and shook his head.

"No, he's right." he explained "All I really did was take my old lab coat and out a different name tag on it."

Raven rolled her eyes.

"Look, I was trying to help you out, dude! Don't throw me under the bus."

Wade wrapped his arm around Gwen's waist and pulled her close to him. He pinched her ass subtly, making her yelp and blush.

"I'll throw you under something...or someone, rather." he whispered into her ear. Gwen giggled and blushed, moving her hand behind her skirt to give his dick a little squeeze. He jumped and purred seductively into her ear.

Bruce coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, um, I gotta get going." he said "And by the way, Nick Fury is looking for you, Gwen."

"Looking for me?" she asked "Why?"

Bruce shrugged.

"Not sure. He didn't say. I'm sure it's nothing bad." he said, before giving her a friendly kiss on the cheek "It was nice seeing you."

Raven smiled and nodded politely, but was internally troubled. She had never even met Nick Fury and, as far as she knew, he wasn't involved at all with the studies that Bruce had conducted on her. So why would this guy want to talk to her?

"Hey, babe." Wade wrapped his other arm around her waist, pulling her close to his body. As he rocked her back and forth, she could feel something against her rear and she doubted it was a cell phone.

"I'm getting the craving for that body against mine. How about you and I hit up the dance floor and show these losers how real sexy people can dance?"

She twisted her head and kissed his cheek.

"Alright, sugar. Just try to keep up."

Another hour later, Raven found herself out on the balcony, leaning over the railing and enjoying the cool night air on her hot skin. Deadpool had gone inside to get two White Russians for the two of them to share.

"You Gwen Pierce?" a deep voice asked.

"Who's asking?" Raven replied, keeping her eyes on the bright lights of Malibu below her.

"Nick Fury." the owner of the voice said, holding out a glass of red wine. Raven held up her hand and shook her head.

"No thanks. My boyfriend is getting me a drink." she replied, looking at the man. He wore no costume and had an eyepatch over one eye. Funny, she had never seen a black guy with an eyepatch. He could've been Blackbeard the pirate. What a wastes opportunity.

"I was told you were looking for me." she said. He nodded.

"Yeah, I have." he swished the wine around in his glass "It has come to my attention you possess some exceptional abilities."

Raven froze. That was almost word for word what Stryker had said all those year ago before he invited her to Project X.

"So what if I do?" she responded "What's that got to do with you?"

"Nothing." he sipped some of the wine "Unless you decide to accept my offer."

Raven raised an eyebrow. She hated how this sounded. Sure, he could offer her a position at S.H.E.I.L.D. or even on the Avengers, but she highly doubted that was the case.

"I want you to participate in a program that could-"

"Not interested." she interjected.

"But you could save-"

"Not. Fucking. Interested." she emphasized each word.

"But why?" he asked. Raven sighed and shook her head. She knew enough about Nick to know that he was an incredibly capable agent, fully able to get whatever information he wanted however he wanted. Now, whether or not he got her confidential test results from one of his Avengers or from his own skill that was to be debated.

"I spent a great deal of my life being experimented on for 'the greater good' and look where that's got me." she ranted "I came here to make sure my brain is healthy and it is. So no more tests, no more experiments, none of that. I'm done."

She pushed away from the balcony and began to make her way inside, before colliding with a familiar body.

"Hey, Gwen." Bruce said "Enjoying the night air?"

Her eyes narrowed. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Now it's time to see who her true friends were.

"Did you tell Fury about our little experiments on my brain?" she asked. He seemed genuinely surprised about her accusation.

"What? No...that was strictly confidential. Why?" he questioned. Raven let out a sigh of relief. She knew he wouldn't give him the information. Bruce was too much of a genuinely good guy for that.

"Because he was just about to ask me to participate in an experiment of his own due to my 'exceptional abilities'." she answered. Bruce's eyes widened and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Wow. That's just so weird." the scientist gave Raven an apologetic look "Look, he usually isn't that much of a jerk. I'll go talk to him. You go back inside and enjoy the party."

Raven shrugged and rubbed her arm, not really feeling much like partying anymore.

"Well...actually, I think I'm gonna call it a night." she replied "I got to start packing tomorrow."

Bruce nodded.

"Alright, well, good job on your costume. You really stood out from the crowd." he said "And I know Wade really appreciates what you did."

She raised an eyebrow.

"He asked me what was with your costume, so I told him." Bruce explained "But I'm sure he'll show his appreciation better than I can explain it."

Raven rolled her eyes and giggled, hoping it would be something along the lines of what occurred last night, or the night before that; she couldn't really tell what time it was right now.

She gave Bruce a friendly hug before retreating back into the party. Spotting Deadpool waiting in line at the bar, she made a beeline straight for him.

"Hey,babe, about time you came in. We'll get much better service now that I've got my pretty girl next to me." he greeted her.

"Actually, I wanna go home, Wade." she yelled in his ear.

_"But why! We just got here!"_

**_"Yeah, like yesterday! Besides, can't you see how frazzled she looks? Something's up."_**

"Sure, babe, let's just grab a bunch of food to store for the winter."

Back at the house, Gwen stood in the bathroom removing the last of her makeup and jewelry. Deadpool had long since removed his tuxedo and both of his masks. Dancing with Raven at the ball made him incredibly horny, even during the slow dance song. However, she still wasn't in the mood for it. She was practically completely silent the whole way back.

"So did you ever figure out what Fury wanted to talk about, babe?" he called to her from his place in the bed. Gwen rolled her eyes and slid the dress off of her body.

"Just some bullshit about wanting me to participate in some kind of experiment." she replied, sauntering into the bedroom. Wade held his hands out to her. Gwen smirked and laid down into his arms.

"Quit talking and turn that light off." he whispered "I wanna do shit to you."

His fingers ran up and down her body as she reached over to turn out the light.

On her way back down to her place, she kissed Wade passionately, running her tongue across his lips asking for entrance; which he permitted. Their kiss deepened, as they explored each others mouth's and bodies with vigor.

They continued this for about twenty minutes, until they pulled away for air. Gwen rested her head on Wade's chest, letting him wrap her up in both blankets and his arms. He whispered plenty of sweet nothings and promises to protect her into her ear. She couldn't catch them all; he talked way too much and she was way too tired.

But at least here in his arms she felt safe. Laying here in the relatively silent house, in one of the most comfortable beds, with one of the best people she had come to know; Gwen actually felt normal. She didn't feel like an ex-merc or an experiment. Hell, she didn't even feel like a mutant. Here, in his arms, she felt like just plain Gwen. And it was wonderful.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Walkin on Sunshine by Katrina & The Waves_

_Happy Together by The Turtles_

_I Just Can't Wait to be King from the Lion King soundtrack_

_Ridin' Dirty by Chamillionaire_

_Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show_

_Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett & the Crypt Keepers_

_and anything else you could ever want! _


	23. Chapter 23

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or any songs/movies/TV shows/etc. mentioned/referenced/used in this story. I do own Raven. Enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey, readers. Deadpool here. So like, I totally got into this argument with the writer about how she was trying to put her own needs for mushy gushy stuff into the story, instead of focusing on the main plot point and that she needed to stop being a little whiny bitch and get back to the nitty gritty and you wanna know what?"

_"What?"_

**_"What?"_**

"I fucking won! Now that Raven and I are established as a couple who still haven't boned or said the four letter 'l' word, there really is no need for us to linger on those little romantic moments!"

**"Hey! The fuck are you doing?! Get away from my laptop and back into character!"**

"Ugh! Fine. You can be a real bitch, you know that."

**"From the looks of it: your my bitch now, bitch."**

"Ohhhh, nice comeback. Last time I heard that one I laughed so hard I fell off my dinosaur!"

"Um, Wade," Raven asked, tapping on her boyfriend's shoulder "Just who the hell are you talking to."

Ah, Raven, or as he preferred to call her 'Sex Kitten'. She was everything he could've ever asked for in a girlfriend and then some. Even with her red and sniffling nose, courtesy of the harsh December winter, she still managed to look sexy as hell.

"The writer, babe." he answered "She controls our every move."

Raven nodded, and sipped some of her steaming hot mint tea that she had been carrying around with her since the first snow hit New York. She had heard this claim of his all the time: that everyone was just part of this alternate reality controlled by various progenitors. It was crazy, but then again so was Tom Cruise.

"Right, well, tell her to write the X-Mansion over in Malibu cuz I'm sick of this shit." she sneezed, and held her steaming cup up to her nose to relieve some of her nasal congestion. Even with enough layers on her to put that kid from A Christmas Story to shame, she was still freezing.

"Fuck winter." she cursed as they continued to crunch through the snow. Deadpool smirked and pinched her red cheeks.

"Aw, baby, you're so cute when you're hating seasons." he cooed.

"Shut up!" she yelled at him, her voice incredibly nasally "Let's just pick up those invitations and get back home."

"I still don't get why we're the delivery crew." Deadpool pouted, wishing he was back in Raven's cozy little room playing tongue twister with the hot mutant babe.

"Because it's the Christmas season and it's nice!" she replied. Deadpool stuck his tongue out and crossed his arms.

"Well, I'm Canadian." he retorted "I don't have to give a shit about that stuff."

Raven laughed, moving a head of Deadpool as a passing human family passed by.

"You don't have to be Canadian to care about Christmas!" she replied over her shoulder "And besides, I thought Canadians were supposed to be nice. Too nice, actually."

"Hey! That's racist!" he admonished, holding open the door to the card store. Raven stepped inside, pushing her dolly ahead of her. Today, they were picking up invitations for the parents of the students of Professor X's school. The school would be hosting their special holiday family day near the end of this month and it was about time to get them addressed and shipped.

"Canadian isn't even a race!"

"Hey! Don't you oppress me!"

"I'll oppress the shit outta you!"

They argued amongst themselves like this until they reached the counter, where they came face to face with a kindly looking elderly woman.

"Um, hi, we're from Xavier's." Raven introduced herself "We're here to pick up an order of invitations."

"Ah, yes," the woman replied "They turned out beautifully. I'll have Raul help you while I ring you up, alright?"

Raven nodded, turning to Deadpool.

"Can you make sure everything's all there and junk, while I go pay?" she asked. He gave her a mock salute.

"Aye, aye, Capitan!" he answered in a fake French pirate accent. She smirked and kissed him on the cheek before walking over to the register with the old woman, her cream colored slouch beanie bouncing as she walked.

_"Aren't we just the luckiest guys in the world?"_

**_"Indeed! Who knew we could snag such a babe!"_**

_"Too bad we don't have a dad to rub this in his face!"_

_**"Well, we prance around with her in the X-Mansion, it's the same thing, right?"**_

"Hey!" a mean sounding Cuban voice said, breaking Deadpool from the conversation with himself, "Here's your shit."

**_"So much for the holiday spirit!"_**

Now, if he were by himself, Deadpool would have no problem shoving his gun in this dude's face and make him say it nicely. However, with Raven here, he didn't want to spoil their moment.

"Thanks, Happy." the mercenary responded, taking the boxes and loading them onto the dolly as the guy, he assumed to be Raul, handed them to him.

"Ya know, I'm getting real sick of you costumed freaks." Raul told him. Deadpool snorted.

"Funny, we're really sick of saving your ass every time you get your dick stuck in a vacuum, but you don't hear us bitchin' about it."

"I'm serious, asshole." the Cuban said under his breath so his boss wouldn't hear "You guys get to do whatever the fuck you want, while guys like me get thrown in jail for stealing money to feed our kids."

"If only you could get one of those job things so you could make a more honest living." Deadpool replied. The man reached across the counter and grabbed the mercenary by his collar, pulling him halfway over the counter.

"You ain't shit, asshole." the man hissed "Just cuz you walk in here with a fine bitch and a fancy costume you think you can say whatever you want."

Ok, this was the final straw. Deadpool pulled one of his more discreet knives and jabbing it hard enough into his assailant's side to get the message across.

"Well, since I have the weapon and the healing facto: yeah I think I can pretty much do whatever." he said into the man's ear "And she isn't a bitch."

_"Ew! And tell him he smells like ass!"_

"Yeah! And you smell like the worst kind of ass." he added.

"Um, Wade. You ready to go?" Gwen asked with an eyebrow raised. Deadpool and Raul smiled sheepishly, releasing each other immediately.

"Yeah. Just wishing a Feliz Navidad to our Mexican friend over here." he answered.

"I'm Cuban, asshole." Raul whispered. Deadpool flashed his knife behind his back, making Raul shut up and go with it.

"I mean, ah, yes, Feliz Navidad and Feliz Año Nuevo!" he added. Raven didn't want to know what had transpired between the two. So, just assuming it was bad and being thankful nobody got hurt, she folded up the receipt and slid it into her pocket.

"Alright, then...um...Feliz Navidad and all that jazz. Thanks for the cards." she said before exiting the store. Before he followed her, Deadpool turned and lifted his mask to stick his tongue out at the rude man.

_"Yeah! We showed him!"_

_**"Real mature."**_

"I cannot thank you enough for picking up these invitations." Storm said as Raven and Deadpool unloaded the boxes of cards "We have been so swamped trying to get all the holiday preparations ready that it's been almost impossible to leave the Mansion."

"But I'm sure if there was another magnetic apocalypse, you guys would be all over that shit." Deadpool complained. Raven chuckled and shook her head.

"Ignore him." she replied "We were happy to help."

"Speak for yourself." Deadpool moaned, rubbing his rumbling belly "It's been forever since I've had a taco!"

"I'm still trying to teach him about the good deeds that come with the Christmas season." Raven said apologetically.

"Funny you should say that. I think I'm gonna need a HUGE good deed from you." Storm replied. Deadpool nudged his girlfriend aside gently.

"Hey, honey, if you need a huge 'good deed' I don't see why you'd be asking my girl for permission, since I am a grown man after all."

"Wade." Raven growled. His confidence immediately shot, Deadpool hung his head and retreated to his girlfriend's side.

"What kind of good deed?" she asked suspiciously.

"Cable is here." the white haired mutant informed her, grabbing her arm before she could turn and run "He read your comics, Gwen. I don't think he knew just how bad things were for you. I think he wants to make things right."

Raven let out a sigh and pulled her arm out of Storm's grasp. She wasn't sure if it was the holiday season or something else that was making her have a change of heart. Somewhere deep down, Raven knew she wanted to reconcile with Cable. After all, she really did used to see him as a father figure.

"Alright, Ororo, I'll cave." she relented "Where is that hunk of scrap metal anyways?"

"He's in the cafeteria looking at the decorations." Storm smiled "I think he will be very surprised to see you."

Deadpool and Raven stood outside of the large closed doors of the cafeteria. Raven fiddled anxiously with one of the many large green garlands that hung around the massive doorframe. She was having second doubts about this. What if she lost her cool and killed him? What if he just wanted to ridicule her for her mistakes like her sister had?

"You havin' second doubts, babe?" Wade asked, as if reading her mind. Gwen smiled and flicked a red ornament.

"Sort of. I dunno...I've hated him for so long...not hating him seems like such a weird thing to do." Gwen replied.

"Well, if things don't work out, steal his time traveling powers and go back in time to stop yourself from hating him." he suggested.

"Ah, but if I change that in the past, who knows what will be changed in the future." she replied, being somewhat of an expert in how this whole time traveling bullshit worked, "Who knows, maybe that would mean I would never have met you."

"Argh! Nevermind! Nevermind! Don't do that!" Wade exclaimed, enveloping her in a bone crushing embrace "I need my Taco Goddess! Without her I will explode!"

Gwen laughed, kicking and struggling to get out of Wade's embrace. He really had a way of putting her at ease.

"Now, hurry up and get in there!" Wade shouted, abruptly shoving Gwen through the giant wooden doors, blockading them with his body so she couldn't escape.

"You go make nice with Summers!" he instructed "I'll go make tacos!"

She heard him giggle evilly, as if he actually managed to triumph over her, as he ran off to the kitchen. She sighed, and shook her head. It's too late to turn back now.

"I didn't know you liked Christmas decorations so much, Summers." she said, approaching the large techno-organic man, wishing her wet shoes would stop squeaking on the wood floor. He was as large and serious looking as ever. Still had old man hair and various scars on his body. For obvious reasons, it was incredibly difficult to watch him handle a delicate snowman statue in his gargantuan and calloused hands without laughing.

Shocked by the sudden sound of her voice, the large man almost dropped the tiny figurine.

"Gwen! You showed up. That's odd." he said. Raven shrugged and slid off one of her many layers, laying it on one of the large wooden dining tables gingerly. He probably has seen various ways this whole situation could play out via his telekinesis or actually living it through time travel. From the sounds of it, it didn't look like she had shown up any of those times. That was a good sign, right?

"Yeah, looks like I did." she replied, walking towards the large Christmas tree set up in the far corner of the room. It was only half decorated, but it still looked beautiful. The deep emerald of the needles contrasted beautifully with golden garlands and twinkling white lights as the tree stood motionless in the perfect lighting often found in the corners of rooms.

She touched one of the lights gingerly. Growing up, she recalled picking out trees just as beautiful as this one; although not as large. Each year, despite her mother's insisting on buying a fake tree, her father drove them out into the mainland just to see his two mutant daughters' faces light up with joy and pride as they picked a tree of their choosing. It didn't matter how expensive it was or how it was shaped; her father always managed to make it work.

This year, she would be celebrating Christmas over at Wade's house. She had bought all of the decorations for him, including a fantastic fake white Christmas tree with multicolored lights and a vintage star on top. He was in charge of setting it all up without anything catching on fire. Then, they would come together for a nice Christmas dinner that she would cook from scratch just like her mother had all those years ago. Not only was it the first Christmas they would be celebrating together, but also the first Christmas Gwen has celebrated at all since her father was killed.

"I read your books." Cable said, making Raven jump. When did he get next to her? For a big guy, he sure was stealthy.

"I...I had no idea." he began "I mean, I knew how difficult things would be for you on your own, but...seeing it from your point of view-"

"Relax, Summers." Raven interrupted, looking up at him with kind dark eyes "I've spent so much time just hating you because I expected you to be someone that you're not."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What did you expect me to be?"

Raven chuckled and began to fiddle with a voodoo doll charm Wade had gotten her on her jacket.

"Believe it or not, I kinda used to think of you like a dadish thing."

"You did?"

"Well, yeah." she explained "You fed me, clothed me, gave me a place to live, taught me how to handle myself, and protected me when I couldn't protect myself...that's basically what a dad does, right?"

Cable shrugged. He wouldn't know that much about the exact duties of being a father since his own father had sent him into the future after his birth. But from what he had experienced, yeah, that did seem to be the fatherly duties.

"I guess I'm not that good of a father."

Raven snorted.

"You kidding me?" she exclaimed "You taught me how to be a bad ass! Watch this!"

She jumped nimbly around the man, doing various acrobatic moves mixed in with some combat moves to emphasize her point.

"You taught me how to make a living." she said as she finished "I will always be grateful to you for that."

Cable chuckled and rolled his eyes as Raven walked back to her place next to him. She had grown a few inches since he knew her as a teen, but not much.

"I should've been teaching you to go to college and earn a respectable living."

"Pah! Like some chump?" she joked "No offense, Cable, but normal isn't really the style of us mutants."

She blinked, suddenly very aware of what she had just said and how badly it contradicted herself. Ever since she got her voice back, she had been trying to pursue a life of normalcy; even if it was with one of the weirdest fuckers alive. That wasn't the life she was given. It was the life that had been taken from her the second she began killing those men back in Detroit.

"Heh, I suppose you're right. Still...cancer...that must've been difficult to deal with on your own." Cable replied. Raven stared up at the empty treetop where a giant golden star would soon rest.

"Emotionally and physically: duh. Of course it was. But, I mean, I was able to afford the best healthcare around thanks to all that money I earned and saved from my contracts. So, I guess, in a way you did help me through. After all, I would never have been able to learn what I needed to in order to survive."

Cable smiled a small smile, happy she had chosen to forgive him. She really had grown up since he saw her last as an incredibly hormonal and broken teenager. She seemed to have pieced herself together into a relatively rounded lady.

"So, what are your plans for Christmas?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"I've got some things to take care of in the future." he replied. Raven sighed. If she had a nickel for every time she heard that come out of his mouth, she would be a very wealthy lady. Well, she was already a wealthy lady, so she would be an even wealthier one if nickels were given each time someone said something repeatedly.

"I figured as much." she said, resting a hand on one of his massive shoulders "But if you ever get tired of taking care of future stuff, I'll be celebrating Christmas over at Wade's. You're welcome to join us if you want. I'm sure Wade would be overjoyed to have you."

Cable smirked and stuck one of his hands under Raven's hat to ruffle her hair a bit like he used to.

"I think I might take you up on that. No promises though."

"I know." she beamed up at him before wrapping her arms as far around his massive form as she could "I'm just glad to have you back. It's been so long..."

"That it has, Gwen." Summers replied, hugging her with one arm "That it has."

"Hey, babe!" Deadpool exclaimed as Raven entered the kitchen "You and Cable make nice?"

"Yeah we did." Raven replied with satisfaction, shutting the door behind her. She looked him up and down curiously.

"Is that my apron?" she asked, pointing at the pink, frilly fabric. Deadpool stood on his tiptoes and spun around, modeling the apron with a surprising amount of feminine grace.

"You mean, my apron." he replied in a high pitched voice. Raven giggled and kissed him on the cheek, wrapping her arms around his waist, and holding him tight from behind.

"I also invited him to our Christmas party." she whispered into his ear. He groaned, turning the heat off the stove.

"Ugh! But he's such a buzz kill!" Wade groaned, setting the taco meat on a separate burner to cool. He turned around, still in her grasp and looked at her pleadingly.

**_"That's it! Work the puppy dog pout!"_**

"As much as I love how your body looks in that special Christmas outfit we got you, I'm not interested in sharing with Cable."he added.

_"Yes! Logic, bitch!"_

"Well, too bad, I'm wearing it even in the unlikely event that Cable will show up." she laughed. Wade giggled mischievously and nestled his face into her neck, inhaling the wintery scent of her perfume.

_"Oh! Let's tell her about her Christmas present now!"_

_**"What would be the point in telling her?"**_

_"So we can give it to her early! Like right now! In the kitchen!"_

Oh yeah, this Christmas was going to be the best ever. Wade and Gwen naked and making sweet sweet sweaty love all night. She was gonna love it since it seemed to be the main prize she wanted to claim. But getting him to bed wasn't her real accomplishment. The fact that she had gotten him to actually love her was.

_"Dawhhhhh. We love her?!"_

**_"It's what the writer said, isn't it?"_**

True to the omnipotent progenitor of Wade's current world, the scared mercenary really did love this woman. Everything about her screamed his name. Plus, she was the only one who made him feel normal.

"Just wait until you see the present I got you." he murmured into her ear "It's gonna knock your socks off."

Gwen rolled her eyes and pushed the mutate off of her.

"I still don't see how you managed to get a present when we've spent pretty much every day together since December started." she told him, taking some tortillas out off a shelf. She began to prepare the soft shell tacos, which she considered to be just simplified burritos, with the utmost care.

"What do you think I use my nights for?" he replied, snatching up a taco just as she finished making it. It was going to be a long afternoon.

That night, Gwen holed herself up in her room dressed in her favorite Punisher tank top, grey sweats, and Deadpool's jacket. She had the heat cranked all the way up, but that didn't stop the falling snow from accumulating on her window.

By the light of her desk lamp, she worked tirelessly, listening to a soothing playlist consisting of mostly oldies as she did so. She had no idea what to buy Wade for their first Christmas together, so she had chosen to instead make him something. It was a collage of all the pictures they had ever taken of the two of them. Was it cheesy? Absolutely. But she didn't care. With Deadpool, you couldn't go wrong with being a little over the top sometimes.

She wasn't looking forward to sleeping alone that night. She had grown so accustomed to having Deadpool there to keep the bad dreams at bay that it was growing more and more difficult to sleep through them like she used to. Maybe tonight would be a night of good dreams.

Her eyes glanced over to the clock. It was already three a.m. There would be one way to find out.

Reluctantly, Gwen turned off the light and crawled underneath her many quilts, blankets, and sheets. She pulled one of the many carnival toys Wade had won for her close and sighed, letting her eyes shut slowly.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Winter Wonderland by Doris Day_

_White Christmas by Bing Crosby_

_Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers_

_Stand by Me by Ben E. King_

_Sherry by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons_


	24. Chapter 24

_Hey, so, been lacking inspiration nowadays. So everything is coming to me like really super slowly. So, if you are reading this, as well as some chapters in the past, and you're all like "hey, this doesn't flow and sounds forced." well you'd be right. Thanks for bearing with me. I still can't believe people read this shit._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Deadpool, or anything else that is obviously not mine. I do own Raven and Dana! Enjoy!_

* * *

Dana Georgiana Pierce sat in the ruins of one of Magneto's many secret bases fiddling with a Rubik's cube. She loved puzzles. It was one of the many things that Magneto had taught her to appreciate when she first joined the Brotherhood.

However, now that she had taken up her father figure's mantle, she had a new puzzle to solve, and that was the puzzle of Weapon X.

Although Magneto was vehemently against experimentation on mutants, Dana believed that as long as the experimentation was, for the most part, for the betterment of the mutant population as a whole. It wasn't what Magneto had in mind, but he was her father figure; not her father. Not as if it would matter even if he was.

The key to this puzzle lied in her sister, Gwen. Gwen was the only one with a healing factor who remembered the exact details of what occurred on Three Mile Island. She was one of the few who even knew of its location. Her ability to take other mutant's abilities and adapt them as her own made her the ideal candidate for a super soldier.

Dana smirked, sliding the last part of the puzzle into place. Perhaps that is why Stryker had sought her out all those years ago.

"So that leech actually had a use after all." she commented, holding up her completed puzzle with pride "Too bad she has something to live for now."

She tossed the colored cube over onto a pile of already completed puzzles and sighed.

Deadpool, that failed experiment. The perfect example of why humans were never meant to hold the god-like power which only a few of the population held.

Of course her sister had chosen him. Granted, Dana had expected her to choose the handsome southern gentlemen: Remy LeBeau. Even as a child, Gwen just loved to bring home injured animals and nurse them to health. She always picked out the things that nobody else wanted; the things that repulsed everyone else.

"Mistress." one of her subordinates saluted her before continuing "We have some intel regarding those mutants you wanted us to look into."

Dana nodded.

"Thank you, Decay. I'll be in to review it in a moment."

Decay, better known as Maxwell Kingsley, served as her second in command. Once a member of a prominent family in England, he was ostracized once his mutant abilities emerged. He had the ability to make any living thing rot with just a touch. If he held on long enough, he could kill them. He had been recruited to the Brotherhood a long time ago, almost right after Dana agreed to join. Over the years, he had developed romantic feelings towards her, due to the fact that she was the only one who didn't react negatively towards his ghostly like appearance. His feelings were not reciprocated, but considering how useful he was in both battle and research Dana couldn't afford to lose him. So, she chose to let him believe she liked him back. The time would come when she wouldn't need him anymore. And it would start with Gwen's capture.

Decay bowed his head politely and left his leader. Dana gazed after him with cold, unfeeling hazel eyes. Amongst most women, Max would've been considered to be attractive; resembling R from Warm Bodies almost perfectly. However, to Dana he was just another hunk of meat. Everyone was to her; it didn't matter who they were. Sometimes she wished she could feel something for someone else. However those feelings just weren't there. She felt nothing; no sadness, no remorse. Just a constant drive to ensure her survival and the survival of mutant kind. She had read that such views were considered to be sociopathic, but she didn't really card too much about readings anyways.

-

"Christmas time is here. Happiness and cheer." Raven sung under her breath as she browsed through the aisles of the very vast and crowded shop. She looked down at the picture she had printed out. A pair of black ivory studs shaped like dominos stared back at her. Even though Wade thought it was weird that she was so close to his ex, she wasn't going to let that small fact stand in the way of their friendship.

Her eyes spotted her target and she quickly snatched them up, much to the displeasure of a goth looking girl. Even during the holidays, you snooze: you loose.

"Fun for all. That children call their favorite time of year." she continued to sing softly as she continued to walk through the store. Her Christmas shopping was almost done. Just a few more gifts and buying the ingredients needed for her dinner and she would be done. And thank God, Raven was growing sick of being jostled about by rude people.

Suddenly, her eyes caught sight of a familiar blonde head.

"Kyle St. Patrick what the hell are you doing out here?!" she shrieked. The boy cringed noticeable at his unofficial combat tutor's voice. Ever since their first match together, she had taken him in as her student and had grown to think of him as like a younger brother. However, if he ever was caught cutting class that just spelled an ass kicking.

"Shit!" he cursed, activating his mutant powers to run through the shelves instead of around. Raven leapt up and jumped from shelf to shelf, keeping her eyes fixed on the boy as he passed through shelf after shelf, much to the amazement of many shoppers.

"What the hell are you thinking skipping class?!" she screamed.

"Ah! Just leave me alone, Gwen! It's the holidays! C'mon!" the boy screamed back in pure terror. Gwen smirked as he reached the last shelf. She slid her basket full of presents on the marble floor, causing him to trip over it.

Before he could recover, Gwen swan dived from her peak. She landed on her prey with the accuracy of a falcon and the strength of a puma. He tried to elbow her in the face, but was stopped by his tutor's firm grip.

"You're escape route was too predictable." she commented, pulling a gun out of her pocket and pointing it at the shoppers who flocked to scavenge on her items.

"Any of you touch them and I'll give you an extra hole in those thieving heads of yours!" she threatened, before turning the pistol on the teenager beneath her.

"Now, tell me, why are you out of class. I thought we were past this?" she questioned, her voice oddly friendly. The poor boy held up his arms, as if they would save his life from a bullet.

"Gah! Why always with the guns and death threats, woman?!" he exclaimed. Gwen cocked the trigger.

"Ah! I was looking for a gift for someone, ok?!" he exclaimed. Raven immediately uncocked her gun and shoved it back in her pocket.

"OMG!" she squealed, leaping up and jumping up and down with excitement "Who is it?! Is it that shapeshifter, Brittany?!"

"No!" Kyle exclaimed, as if embarrassed to be accused of liking the hottest girl at the academy. He stood up and grabbed his tutor's arms to stop her from making such a scene.

"It's Penny, ok? Penny Stevenson." he corrected her in a hushed tone. Raven's eyes widened and she nodded in realization. Of course Kyle wouldn't like a girl with such a false appearance and bubbly personality. Penny was right up his alley. She was quiet with red hair and a cute line of freckles across her nose and the most down to earth personality Raven had ever witnessed; which was to be expected from someone who could manipulate plants.

"Ohhhhh, plant girl." She looked around the expensive mall strangely.

"What the hell are you doing in a place like this shouldn't you be at some greenhouse or something?" she asked. Kyle sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, but I wanted to get her a flower that would never die. I saw online they had this really pretty crystal Juliet rose, but it said you could only buy it in the store and-" he let out a defeated sigh. Raven giggled, never having seen him so desperate to impress someone in a way that wasn't through personal skill.

"Relax, bro." she said, clapping a firm hand on his shoulder "I'll help you out."

Her phone rang, playing Gangnam Style loud enough for the whole world to hear.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Kyle sneered. Raven rolled her eyes and checked her phone. Yeah, it was Deadpool, but he could wait. She quickly hit ignore and sent him a quick message explaining her situation.

"Whatever, dude, at least I have someone who actually WANTS to be with my crazy ass. Now let's go get your lady's flower...and then go buy that crystal thing for her." she winked, making the poor teen turn fifty shades of red.

"Aw, my little baby: the matchmaker!" Deadpool exclaimed, mashing the buttons on his Playstation controller furiously. He cheered in victory when the 'Finish Him' sign appeared on the screen.

_"Aw shit! Use secret attack triple circle, triangle, square, double x!"_

"Hehe. Aw shit, babe, you're in trouble now!" he giggled, pressing the appropriate buttons. Much to his dismay, his character performed a simple low kick instead of the impressive Fatality he was hoping for.

"Laaaaame." Raven retorted, accepting her loss with grace. Don't worry, she would kick his ass next round. After all, nobody could defeat Reptile the Invisible and get off scot-free.

"But yeah, I mean, the kid is like my little brother. Of course I'm gonna help him out." she added, scrolling through the stage selection screen.

"Even if that mean paying for that stupid crystal flower!" Wade shouted "I mean, that shit was expensive! Just what money are you gonna spend on MY present now!"

Gwen smirked evilly as the match started.

"Oh, don't you worry, bug-a-boo, I got your gift covered." she began to mash a sequence of buttons.

_"Mmmmm, sounds kinky! Me gusta!"_

**_"We must've been really good boys this year!"_**

Wade smiled, looking at Gwen with dreamy eyes. Even with her raging gamer girl face on. This really had been a stellar year for him. Or at least a stellar last couple of months in the year.

"Fatality" the signature Mortal Kombat voice said. Gwen cheered, throwing her controller up in the air.

"Victory! Ha! That's what you get for picking Sonya!" she pointed a finger in his face and changed her accent to a horrible Australian one "I studied all of your moves, Sonya!"

"Hey! No fair! I was distracted!" Wade protested. Gwen put her hands on her hips.

"Oh yeah! By what?!"

Wade responded by poking one of her breasts; which wasn't even covered by a remarkably skanky top, but was underneath her baggy hoodie. She giggled and smacked his fingers away.

"How can they be distracting! You can't even see them under all this mess!"

He gave her a playful wink before lifting up his mask to kiss her cheek playfully.

"I know. I just know what's underneath and MAN they are fine as hell!"

She giggled for a bit, but then her face suddenly grew serious and she drew her legs into her chest. Wade laid down on his back, reaching out and playing with the ends of her black hair.

"Aw, what's wrong now, babe?" he asked "You still cranky that I beat you like 5 times already?"

"Nah, I'm just thinking...it's Christmas time and look at me. I'm sitting here in my room playing video games with my boyfriend." she shook her head and sighed "I thought this was the season for families."

He grabbed her hair and pulled her down into him.

"Hey! I don't have a family either! And besides," he kissed the top of her head "We got our own family."

"We do?" she asked. He nodded.

"Hell yeah! There's you and me as the mommy and daddy. Then there's the family dog: Wolverine. Cable is apparently my father-in-law. Swap rat is the creepy womanizing uncle. Kyle can be our weird adoptive kid and-"

"Ah! I get it! I get it! Jeeze!" Raven laughed, hugging Deadpool "You really thought this through, didn't you?"

_"Did we?"_

**_"It has crossed our mind from time to time."_**

_"It's so weird!"_

**_"Are you honestly surprised?"_**

_"Nope!"_

"Thanks, Wade." she said, stretching and pulling her comforter up over them. So what if they were on the floor? Any place was the perfect place to fall asleep with everyone's favorite Merc with a Mouth serving as a pillow.

"You really are a great guy." she yawned.

"Tell me something I don't know, sweet cheeks."

She smirked tiredly and stretched, patting his scarred head lazily. She could've sworn his leg started doing that weird thing dogs do, but disregarded it.

"Why don't you play Shrek?" she asked. He knew she wasn't too far away from entering the dream realm. Even if he argued that he didn't want to watch Shrek and he was a grown ass man who could watch what he wanted, she would argue right back until the cows came home; falling asleep immediately after of course. He had learned this much about her in the past four months.

* * *

_Song(s) Used: _

_Christmas Time from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special thingy...merp_


	25. Chapter 25

_YAY! Truckin' right along, ain't we?_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or any songs/movies/tv shows/etc. mentioned/referenced/used/whatever. I do own Raven and Kyle. Enjoy!_

Well, today was the day. Family day. Raven dressed in a very festive red lace dress and forest green pumps. A bright red ribbon was tied into her head by Deadpool before he went off to take care of a contract. She understood. In her experience, mercenary work peaked around holiday times. Weird, right?

Anyways, Kyle had wanted her to meet his parents. Apparently they were extremely thankful to the one who had helped improve their son's grades and general attitude so much that he was a few points away from making the Dean's list.

The halls were full of mutant children eagerly bustling their families around and chattering incessantly about their school year so far. Raven was completely aware that there were plenty of children who's parents weren't as pleased or who weren't even there. Much like her visits to any pet store or animal shelter, she wished she could take them all with her to some barn somewhere. However, she couldn't, so she was happy with just one.

She pushed open the doors to the cafeteria and entered the room filled to the brim with noise, people, and Christmas decorations. All of this mingled with the smell of Christmas goose, Jewish latkes, and various other holiday foods.

"Gwen! Hey, Gwen! Over here!" Kyle's voice called excitedly to her from one of the large tables. Gwen smiled happily, spotting the blonde haired boy out of the crowd. Across from him, two well dressed people sat. One was obviously a woman with bleach blonde hair and a classy red dress. The other was a semi-bald man with a classy suit. They looked like they were very well off.

"Mom, Dad." Kyle introduced as Raven approached "This is my tutor Gwen."

Raven's red lips parted in a smile as she took each of their hands and shook them.

"I'm Richard St. Patrick and this is my wife Cleo." the man introduced. Raven kept her smile, but cringed on the inside. Yeah, these folks were definitely "old money". This was not going to be fun. She sat down, trying to summon up Remy's southern manners, and tucked her skirt underneath her rear.

"Kyle has told us so much about you! It's so nice that he managed to find such a nice, normal girl to help his grades improve." Cleo said. Raven chuckled and took a sip of water.

"Yeah, if you call being able to absorb people's powers, memories, and energies all while having a weird healing factor and chemical imbalance normal." she joked. When she looked back up, she realized she had probably said something she shouldn't have.

"You're a...a...a...mutant?" Cleo sputtered. Raven sighed and rolled her eyes. Great. They were one of 'those' parents. They hated mutants and were so ashamed of their own mutant son that they shipped him quietly off to boarding school; only to stop by on holidays. No wonder Kyle was so messed up.

"Kyle, you told us she was normal! You told us she was going to teach you to be normal!" Richard scolded his son.

"She is normal, Dad!" Kyle retorted "At least more normal that you two!"

Oh, nice job kid! Standing up to your dad like that! That takes some balls, especially for a minor. Now, it was time for momma Raven to jump in and protect her cub.

"Dick, can I call you Dick?" she asked with false kindness "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, but here at Xavier's, teaching kids to be 'normal' just isn't what we do here. We teach kids to control their unique abilities while also teaching them how to be a respectable member of society."

"Are you even a teacher here?" Cleo hissed, her face matching the red of her dress.

"Not officially." Raven replied with a smirk "You see, there's this issue of me not having a high school diploma."

She thought that his parents were about to have simultaneous heart attacks. Her smirk widened into a grin. This was turning out to be more fun than she thought.

"Just what the hell kind of school is this?!" Richard exclaimed.

"The best kind of school!" Kyle yelled back, slamming his fists on the table "These people here, they treat me like I'm just a person and not some kind of freak! They're not ashamed of me! They like me! Unlike you!"

"Kyle, honey, you know we like you." Cleo cooed "Now settle down, you're causing a scene."

"Damn right I am!" he yelled back "And of course your ashamed of me! Tell me, what did you ever tell your friends at the country club about your precious first born's sudden disappearance? Or better yet, what did you tell my little sisters?!"

Whoa...Kyle has sisters? And his parents didn't bring them. Man, that's cold. Even Raven sat there with her jaw hanging wide open. This kid was a whole bunch of justifiable teenage angst wasn't he?

Everybody's eyes were on them and the once noisy room fell so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"We didn't bring them because-"

"Because you can't just tell them their brother can walk through walls." he interrupted his mother "Because you can't tell them that their big brother's a freak."

"Kyle, we-" Richard began.

"Save it. I don't need this shit. I'm a mutant and the only family I need is right here in this school." Kyle finished. He gave his parents equally hateful looks before storming out. Raven stood up, slamming a fist down on the table bringing the 's attention back on her.

"Damn! It smells like teen spirit up in here!" she shouted, summoning her inner Deadpool "USA! USA!"

She continued to chant, jumping up and down as she exited the room. Now, it was time to find Kyle. She really needed to tie a bell around that kid.

After fifteen minutes of searching, Raven found her pupil sitting in the snow staring at Professor Xavier's tombstone. She rubbed her bare arms for warmth as she navigated her way through the snow. Out of her desperation to find the black sheep of the St. Patrick family, she hadn't even thought to go back and change her clothes.

"Hey! Dude! That was awesome! Way to stick it to the man!" she cheered once she was within earshot. Kyle slumped his shoulders, throwing a bit of snow in the eternal flame.

"It doesn't feel too awesome." he sighed "Parents are supposed to be proud of their kids, right?"

"I guess so." Raven replied, crouching low and holding her hands in front of the fire for warmth "But not everyone is that lucky. I mean, I've seen humans and mutants alike with douchey parents like yours. And they get along just fine for the most part."

He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Hey...you know who I didn't see at the family thingy?"

He looked up.

"Penny."

His pale skin reddened slightly around his cheeks. Raven smirked. Alright, we have some progress.

"Maybe her parents didn't even show up and she's holed up in her room or the greenhouse." she suggested "You should talk to her."

"Ugh, Gwen, I really don't think I can...not like this at least." he replied. Not what Raven wanted to hear, but she had one more trick up her sleeve. It was illegal, but so was her old job.

"I think you need to get some liquid courage in you."

Kyle blinked in disbelief.

"But I'm underage."

Raven rolled her eyes and tossed her hair back.

"So what? I thought you were a punk."

"I am a punk!" he defended.

"Well then let's go out! Let's hit up a few clubs, dance it up, and get shit faced! Well...I can't get shit faced, but you can! I'll be the perfect designated driver: I can drink all night with you and pass a breathalyzer with flying colors! C'mon, doesn't that sound fun?"

Kyle smirked, his mood increasing slightly.

"Yeah...I guess it does."

"So what do you say...have a few drinks with an old lady?"

Kyle giggled and pushed Raven over into the snow. She shrieked and stood up, brushing the offending frozen water off her pale skin. Much to her displeasure, her skin was already turning red.

"Alright. And your not old. You're aged to perfection."

Raven rolled her eyes and helped her pupil up.

"Dude, I'm already getting you into a club and getting you alcohol. You can cut it out with the brown nosing."

Deadpool returned to the X-Mansion at around 11:30 with a medium sized poinsettia in tow. He intended to buy it from a local florist after completing his contract but, after realizing he left his wallet on Raven's nightstand, the florist was kind enough to give him the beautiful red plant for free. After a little bit of negotiations with Mr. Bang Bang.

_"Hehe. That's our gun!"_

**_"They know! They're not that stupid!"_**

"Hey! Let's get back to the issue at hand! Where the hell is my princess of darkness?! And don't you dare tell me she's in another castle!" Deadpool shouted. Wolverine cringed at the volume of the noise and dug in his ear with his pinkie.

"That's what I keep tryin' to tell ya, bub!" the short and fuzzy X-Man replied "She's gone! She took Kyle and said they were going to get crunk."

"Hehe. You saying that is so funny." Deadpool giggled, poking his friend's fuzzy cheek "So out of character."

Wolverine narrowed his eyes and his claws shot out in between his knuckles. With one quick, swift movement, Deadpool's intrusive finger was lying on the floor.

"Owie!" Deadpool shrieked in fake pain "Wolvie gave me a paper cut!"

"What a mess." Rogue muttered, shaking her head as Deadpool stooped down to retrieve his finger.

"Ugh. Didn't Raven text you and tell you all of this already?" Wolverine growled. Deadpool stuck his finger back in place. After a few moments, it had healed perfectly back on to its stump.

"That's kinda why I got this." he presented the Christmas flower "See, my contract kinda got a little hairy and long story short, my old phone is toast. Good thing I have AppleCare, right?"

Deadpool presented his new phone with pride.

"Yeah, I lost all my contacts, pictures, and other priceless memories, but this phone let's me check on my Farmville from anywhere I want!"

**_"Farmville is dumb. You're not even a real farmer."_**

_"Don't listen to Stuffy over there! Believe in your dreams!"_

"Yeah...I will believe in my dreams." the mercenary said with a far off look on his face. Losing his patience, Wolverine smacked the motor mouth Merc with the back of his claws.

"Look, bub, the only reason you're still here and not in pieces is because of Raven! Now, without her here, I'm not sure how long I can guarantee that. So if you want to see her, I suggest you go in her room and stay there!" Wolverine threatened. Deadpool jumped up and down, clapping his hands excitedly.

"Oh! Yay! Now I can finally try on all that sexy lingerie Raven never wants to let me wear!" he exclaimed before running down the hall.

Wolverine rubbed his temples. Between the stress of family day and now Deadpool, his headache was beginning to progress into a migraine. All he wanted was to kick back with a nice scotch, a cigar, and the new issue of Cycle World until he was tired enough to sleep. But nooooooo, now he had to stay up and wait for Raven and Kyle to come back. He just hoped the cops didn't get them for underage drinking and providing alcohol to a minor.

"Relax, Logan." Rogue said, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder "They'll be fine. Gwen is pretty responsible and it's not like she can even get drunk. Besides, she sure seems to know her way around the system well enough."

"Yeah, let's hope so." the claw wielding mutant said before stalking off to his room.

"Yellow model chick. Yellow bottle sipping. Yellow Lamborghini. Yellow top missing." Kyle rapped as Raven cruised her dark and borrowed car back to the X-Mansion. They had such a blast at the night club. No waiting in line, no questioning how old her date was, no spending her own money on drinks. Yeah this night was great, especially since Kyle could party with the best of them. Well, once he stopped complaining about how lame and mainstream the club was.

"Yeah, yeah. That shit look like a toupee. I get what you get in 10 years, in two days. Ladies love me, I'm on my Cool J. If you get what I get, what would you say? She wax it all off, . And them suicide doors, Hari Kari." he continued. Raven peeked out of her stunner shades. From the looks of it, they were only a few more minutes away from the X-Mansion. Just long enough to finish the song that was currently making the mirrors and windows of the car vibrate dangerously.

"Take it away, Raven!" Kyle shouted. God, this boy was smashed. There would be no hiding this from Wolverine, not that she had any intention of doing so. It's not like he didn't engage in underage drinking as a kid. Well, seeing as he was from the pages of America's history book, his drinking probably wasn't considered underage.

"'Cause I feel like I'm running. And I'm feeling like I gotta get away, get away, get away. Better know that I don't and I won't ever stop 'cause you know I gotta win everyday day, day." she rapped. They were pulling into the garage now. She could already see some lights turning on and those with superhuman vocal chords started screaming angrily to turn the music off. She couldn't blame them, she would do the same thing if she was trying to sleep at three in the morning. Damn, three am already?

"See they don't really really wanna pop me. Just know that you will never stop me And I know that I can be a little cocky. Oh you ain't never gonna flop me." she turned the car off and stepped out, her plastic beads a bunch of people just threw around her neck. Kyle seemed to have a difficult time getting out of the car, so she walked around to help him. Poor kid, he couldn't even stand up on his own.

"Alright, alright, c'mon now, kid." she groaned, hoisting his weight up on her shoulders "And don't puke on me. I borrowed these shoes from Rogue."

Kyle giggled and slurred something unintelligible as they staggered into the warmth of the mansion. They made their way almost to the kitchen, when Kyle's drunken gaze caught sight of a flash of fiery red hair.

"Hey, hey, hey Penny!" the blonde called drunkenly out to the shy plant wielding girl. She stopped, resting a pale hand on the doorframe; staring at him with confused and tired forest green eyes. She wore a simple white nightgown underneath an extremely fluffy and warm looking green robe. Raven guessed she was probably going to the kitchen to grab some warm milk.

"Kyle?" she asked tiredly.

"I fucking love you!" Kyle shouted. Raven smacked her forehead before slapping it on Kyle's before he could say anything else to ruin his chances with the cute, shy girl.

"Hahaha, Never mind him!" the black haired girl said, leading him away step by step "He's been acting all funky lately. It's gotta be that holiday madness."

Penny raised an eyebrow. Kyle pulled Raven's hand off of his mouth for a brief moment.

"I'm white girl wasted!" he shouted as loud as he could before Raven smacked her hand back over his mouth. Penny didn't seem too pleased and she shuffled into the kitchen.

Raven dragged Kyle back to his room. Almost instantly after his white girl wasted decree, the boy passed out and had to be dragged back to his room. Thankfully, it was on the second floor. Not so thankfully, Raven still have two more floors to walk up before she could rest her own head.

"Alright, ya big baby, in ya go." she groaned, rolling Kyle onto his bed. He groaned tiredly and grabbed his pillow. She smirked as she covered him up. So this is what it was like to be a mother, or so she imagined. It felt surprisingly awesome.

"Your mom and dad don't know what they're missing." Raven whispered, pulling his black comforter over his body. She gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead and stroked a bit of his hair out of his closed eyes.

"Don't worry." she cooed "I'll make sure you see your sisters again, I promise."

Before leaving, she placed a sliver trashcan at his bedside just in case. She also placed a tiny bottle of aspirin on his nightstand along with a cup of water. Sure it would be lukewarm by the time he woke up, but it was better than nothing. Also, just to put a cherry on top of the niceness cake, she cleared the floor of everything. Sure, she kinda just shoved everything in his closet, but it was better than tripping over it on your way to vomit your guts out after filling up the tiny waste bucket.

Raven gave the slumbering teen one last look before shutting the door. Almost instantly, she ran right into Rogue.

"Jesus Christ, Anna Marie!" she gasped, placing a hand on her racing heart "You nearly scared the shit outta me!"

Rogue stood there in her nightwear and slippers. She wore a fond smile on her face and her eyes were calm as she stood there with her arms crossed.

"That was really nice of you to do what you did." Rogue said. Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Whoa, is a teacher actually condoning underage drinking and partying? Somebody call the press!"

"I mean it." Rogue placed a gloved hand on Raven's arm "That boy...he wasn't going down a good road. But now you're in his life...I've seen a change in him and it's a good one."

Raven rolled her eyes and glared at the door.

"Nah. He's still the same little shit who's ass I kicked back in October." she chuckled "Except this time he cost me a bunch of cash."

That was a lie, but whatever it was late. Too late to come up with anything witty.

"Look, I know I should at least apologize for coming back so late and making so much noise." Raven apologized. Rogue shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you both are here, safe and sound."

Raven smiled. Rogue was awesome. There was just no other way to say it. Raven reached over and hugged her best friend, pressing her cheek against hers briefly; resulting only in a small jolt of pain.

Raven pulled away and rubbed her cheek. She had absorbed other people's powers and such before, but never had the reverse done on her. It stung and, if not for her healing factor, she would've felt a bit woozy.

"Thanks, Rogue." she said. Rogue smiled, touching her cheek with a curious look in her eye. Raven knew Rogue could absorb memories, just like she could, but she didn't know just what memories she had absorbed.

"No problem, sugar. Oh, and by the way, there's a lovely surprise in your room." Rogue winked mischievously.

"Oh no. I knew you guys would be mad about me taking Kyle out! Please don't tell me you filled my room with snow!" Raven pleaded.

"I guess you're just gonna have to find out." Rogue replied with another wink before walking down the hall.

"Night!" she called over her shoulder with a wave. Raven's eyes narrowed. Curse Southern women and their mysterious ways. Oh well, she was too tired to worry about it too much.

Once Raven made it back to her room, she was relieved to open the door and find it to be the same tropical heat she had left it this morning. She was also surprised to see a sleeping Deadpool on her bed.

He wasn't wearing his mask, but he was wearing one of her black bras around his head and a bright red sheet tied around his neck. If not for his red and black jumpsuit, he would've looked like Stitch from that one Disney movie.

Raven pulled her phone out and snapped a picture. The flash caused the man to groan and roll over onto his side. Raven giggled and set her phone down on her desk. Thank God, this guy was a deep sleeper.

Without getting changed into pajamas, she crawled into bed and pulled the sheets around the two of them. Just as she was about to wrap her arms around Wade's back, he flipped over and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm glad you're back." he yawned, "I was afraid I had the wrong address."

Gwen giggled and settled down into Wade's arms happily. Despite all the fun she had, she was glad to be back too.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland_

_White Christmas by Bing Crosby_

_Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley_

_Tipsy by J-Kwon_

_Look At Me Now by Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes_

_Naked as We Came by Iron & Wine _


	26. Chapter 26

_Truck, truck, truckin' right aloooong! Please don't forget to review and shit. You know you want to )_

_Also, let me just say French is not my native language and it isn't even my second language. So, if there's any issues with how I used the language or whatever, just blame Google translate. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Deadpool, or anything else that obviously isn't mine. I own Raven, Kyle, and Dana (even though she's a crazy bitch). Enjoy!_

* * *

Raven was sweating with effort as she drove her fists into a punching bag. She moved back and forth on the balls of her feet, striking the target with a special type of rhythmic accuracy. She wished she had 'real' superpowers. Like being able to shoot fire out of her hands like her younger sister or to be able to manipulate kinetic energy like Remy for instance. But no, she was just a freaky good healer with the ability to leech off other people; which she didn't like all that much. Sure, she'd get their powers for a duration of time, but she often would get glimpses into their lives. That was just depressing, especially when she used to work as a mercenary.

"So any idea where that crazy sister of yours is?" Wolverine asked from behind the large bag. He was serving as her spotter, since for once he didn't have much work to do and they haven't gotten a chance to hang out much since she got her voice back.

"She could be anywhere." she replied, striking the bag with extra force "Magneto had hideouts all over the country. Dare I say all over the world. But I'm sure you knew that."

Wolverine ducked as Raven flipped up into the air, delivering a series of kicks onto the bag before landing and continuing her punches. He knew it would be a sore subject to bring up, but for her own protection and the protection of the non mutant population he had to ask. He had been searching for any place where the estranged Pierce sister could be, but she sure knew how to keep a low profile.

"I just am asking cuz we're having a hell of a time finding her without much to go on."

Raven ducked to evade an imaginary enemy before delivering a strong right hook to the bag.

"I know." she panted, delivering a series of other punches "I wish I could help you, but Dana never was a sentimental type. It was all business with her, even as kids. She would only favor one place over another if it was strategically beneficial to her."

That didn't narrow things down much. All over the USA, there were plenty of strategically secure places: the Rockies, the Appalachians, hell...even in Mt. Rushmore if she was really a clever girl.

Raven stopped striking the bag and held it, leaning her sweating forehead against the beaten sack.

"I really wish I could tell you more, but my sister is as much of a mystery to me as she is to you."

Wolverine nodded as the pair switched places. He began delivering swift punches and kicks of his own to the bag. He struck the bag with great force and speed, giving a small hint as to how he got his name.

"I can understand that." he replied "Trust me."

Raven raised an eyebrow as she moved with swinging bag. He seemed to be hinting at something. She couldn't imagine what, especially since she had broken into records a long time ago and read his file.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of blue run past the door to the training room. It didn't bother her, though. When you live in a huge mansion full of mutants, seeing strange flashes of colors from time to time. This one was probably Nightcrawler playing a game with some of the kids. Jeeze, he was the nicest German she had ever met. A bit too religious for her tastes, but still nice.

Unaware of the blue, Wolverine continued to strike the target. Raven lost herself in the clinking of the chains and the steady beating of Wolverine's fists against the target.

"Logan!" a large blue, furry man in a nice business suit who Raven recognized at mutants rights activist Hank McCoy, exclaimed from the doorway "Thank goodness! I've been looking for you everywhere."

Wolverine stopped hitting the target and turned to address his old friend. Raven joined him, trotting by his side loyally.

"Hank? What is it?" he asked. Each time Raven had seen this gentle blue giant on TV, he had always seemed so professional. Now he seemed desperate, almost wild.

"You need to see the news! It's awful!" Hank exclaimed. Wolverine nodded and the trio ran out of the training room.

"By the way, I don't think I've introduced myself." Hank said to Raven as they ran side by side through the vast hallway "I'm Hank McCoy."

Raven nodded as they rounded a corner. She had always admired Hank for the strides he had made for mutant rights. Without him, who knows what she, as well as her fellow mutants, could've been subjugated to. She owed him so much, and he didn't even know it.

"I'm Gwen Pierce." she replied "But most people call me Raven. It really is an honor to meet you Mr. McCoy, even under these circumstances."

He smiled, showing off a bit of his fangs.

"So you're the girl that I have heard so much about. We should talk more under less strenuous circumstances."

They made it to the common room. The news was on and people of all ages were crowded around the huge flat screen TV. The trio pushed their way to the front. Over the dull roar of the crowd, Raven could hear bits and pieces of the breaking news. There was something about abductions, but other than that she couldn't tell.

"Turn it up." she instructed to the student in control of the remote. The child obliged and turned the volume up.

"The nation was shocked today when fifteen mutants were abducted between late last night and this morning." the news lady said in a stern voice "We have footage from the latest press conference of the issue."

Raven placed a hand over her mouth in shock and grabbed Wolverine's hand for support. There were abductions late last night? That means she had put not only herself in danger, but Kyle. Come to think of it, could Wade be in danger of being kidnapped? What about Gambit? Oh God, where was Rogue?

"Last night, our great nation was shaken with the abductions of fifteen mutant citizens." the president said "Now, as far as we know there is no real connection between the kidnappings other than the abductees are those with human abilities. We are advising all those with mutant abilities to stay inside as much as possible. We have our best men and women investigating this issue and my own thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this tragedy."

"Oh God..."Raven murmured as some pictures of those abducted faded into view "Some of them are so young."

The TV suddenly lost signal causing the room to erupt in a desperate panic.

"Somebody fix the TV!"

"Oh God, what are we supposed to do?"

"Are they gonna come for us?"

"I wanna go home!"

"I need to make some calls." Raven whispered into Wolverine's ear before making her way through the crowd. Once she was by the door, she began to scroll through her contacts to find she could dial his number, however, the signal was restored to the TV.

An unfamiliar sense of panic ran through her body that she had never felt before. She didn't like it. She wanted-no-she needed for it to go away.

"Citizens of America." the voice said. It was chilling and most definitely the one belonging to the news lady.

"Dana!" Raven exclaimed, turning around and pushing her way back through the crowd. One of the students turned the volume up even louder.

"I'm sure you are all aware of the recent disappearances. I'll save you the anticipation of wondering who did it and say that it was me. Or rather, it was the newly recreated Brotherhood."

Murmurs passed through the room like wildfire. All Raven could do was stare at her sister's face in shock. This was supposed to be between them, never between any innocent people. If she knew this is what her younger sister was planning, Raven would've volunteered to go with her a long time ago.

"We don't want your money and we don't want your weapons, not that they would help you. All we want is to ensure the superiority of the mutant race, which is why we kidnapped those mutants and will continue to abduct more if necessary. And don't you worry what for, that will be revealed later." she gave her audience a wink. Raven cringed. Her sister was a cruel one, but the extent of her vindictiveness was beyond the scope of the norm.

"This broadcast is merely a warning." she pulled a pistol out from behind her and walked over to the right, the camera following as she did so. Over in the corner, tied up with thick rope, was a broken and bloodied national guardsman. Dana cocked her gun and pressed it hard against the man's head.

"Mutants: join us freely or join us by force. Humans: your lives will only be spared if you prove yourself worthy to the cause. Know that if you are not considered worthy, you will be eliminated. If you try to rise up...well-"

She pulled the trigger and the room full of children shrieked and screamed in terror. Raven felt Logan pull her head down into his shoulder. She didn't understand why. She had seen a man get shot in the head before. Hell, sometimes she was the one doing it. So why were silent tears rolling down her face?

"We'll do something like that." Dana finished, wiping the bloody gun off with her shirt and tossed it out of frame "Your choice."

And with that the camera disconnected and the room was filled with the sound of panicked students and the loud beep of the TV. Raven pulled away from Logan. Dana had to be stopped, that much she knew. But right now, she needed to get a quick mental checklist that none of her loved ones were taken.

"I've gotta call Wade." she said, running her fingers through her hair and looking around the room desperately. Children were clamoring over one another, some crying and some challenging the Brotherhood to try and take them. She still didn't see Kyle, though.

"I gotta find Kyle." she continued, pacing back and forth "I gotta call Gambit. Where's Rogue? Domino? Storm?"

"Look, call who you need to call." Logan told her "Hank and I will take care of the kids down here. We'll host a meeting in the gym once we get things taken care of."

Raven nodded and sprinted out of the room, pulling her phone out as she ran. She dialed Wade's number and pressed the phone to her ear.

"Please be ok." she murmured, running up her first flight of stairs. The phone rang once, twice, and then three times before Wade answered the phone.

"Babe? Can I call you back later? I gotta take out some trash." he greeted her. She let out a huge sigh of relief. Good, he was still on his contract.

"Wade, I need you to come to the X-Mansion, now." she instructed.

"Huh? Babe, you guys having a concert or something?" he asked "I can barely hear you."

Of course he couldn't hear her. The noise was loud enough to put any concert to shame. Desperate and terrified children all had that ability.

"COME TO THE X-MANSION NOW!" she screamed into the phone, rounding the corner and going up her second flight of stairs.

"Babe, I gotta work you know that." he told her, his voice surprisingly calm and reassuring. Raven felt like she was going to cry. She needed to see him. She needed to see he was alright.

"Wade, please." she whimpered, her voice cracking. The other end of the line was silent and she heard a single gunshot and the familiar thump of a body crumpling to the ground. For some reason, this didn't bother her as much as watching that National Guard member die. Perhaps it was because she knew that more likely than not, the person Wade had just killed wasn't all that innocent and hadn't contributed to society in any beneficial way.

"I'll be there in a couple of hours, ok? Just don't go out for any late night clubbing until I get there." he replied. She smiled in relief, stopping in front of Kyle's door.

"I won't." she promised before hanging up the phone. Now, would've been the perfect time to tell him she loved him. She was too busy banging on Kyle's door to notice.

"Kyle! Kyle!" she called "Boy, you better be in there!"

"Ugh!" he groaned from the other side "Why is everyone being so God damn loud today!?"

Raven smiled in relief. Two down, and four more to go. She banged on the door even harder.

"Boy, if you don't open this damn door I'm gonna shove my foot so far up yo ass you'll be tasting rubber for weeks!" she screamed. She pressed her ear to the door. She could hear him roll out of bed and shuffle to the door.

Once he opened it, she threw her arms around him and brought him into a bone crushing hug, not even caring he smelled like vomit and alcohol.

"Ah! Jesus, Gwen! What the hell!?"he cried out in pain as he felt every bone in his spine crack.

"Listen." Gwen instructed, "Get yourself cleaned up and go to the gym, ok?"

She pulled away and began to dial Rogue's phone number.

"What? What for? It's a Saturday."

Gwen glared daggers at the boy.

"There's no time to explain. Just get your ass down there before I cut it off and throw it down there myself!" she yelled. He gulped nervously and rushed back into his room.

An hour later, Raven holed herself up into her room with her laptop open. She was desperately searching for Dana's location, while simultaneously tracking Wade's location by using his phone. It was a lot easier to do this since she stole-ahem- I mean borrowed some of Tony Stark's latest tracking software.

Usually, she would've viewed stalking a boyfriend to be completely off the wall, but she could make an exception in this case.

"C'mon...c'mon...pick up your damn phone, you stupid sexy ass Cajun swamp rat!" she murmured as her dark eyes scanned the map for any hinting of Dana's locations.

"Bonjour, mon amour." Gambit's smooth Cajun voice greeted her "I was wonderin' when you would call me."

"Remy, I need you to get on Skype now." she demanded, opening the program and logging in.

"Aw, got tired at looking at Scarface already, chere?" he cooed. Her temper flared.

"Ce n'est pas le moment pour flirter ralenti! Vous obtenez votre cul sur Skype dès maintenant ou alors aidez-moi, je vais vous battre dans un autre système solaire!" she shrieked back _(translation: This is not the time for idle flirting! You get your ass on Skype right now or so help me I'll beat you into another solar system!)_

"Alright, chere, alright." he said, his voice still smooth despite his worried tone "There's no need to shout. Though you are cute when you're angry."

"Ah ouais? Eh bien, je suis sur le point d'obtenir magnifique si je ne vois pas votre visage sur mon écran en environ cinq secondes, LeBeau!"

_(translation: Oh yeah? Well, I'm about to get gorgeous if I don't see your face on my screen in about five seconds, LeBeau!)_

His red eyed face popped up on the screen, a cocky smirk on her face. Relief washed over her like a wave.

"Maintenant, dites-moi ce qui ne va pas, chéri?" he asked. She sighed and rubbed her head._ (Translation: Now, tell me what's wrong, darling?")_

"Avez-vous vu les nouvelles?" Gwen replied. Now, I should probably mention that French was only one of the many languages she had picked up over the years. She also knew other cool languages such as Swedish, Spanish, Japanese, and Celtic. It was a consequence of too much time on her hands and the fact that each language she picked up opened her list of clientele just a bit more._ (Translation: Have you seen the news?")_

Remy nodded, lighting one of his infamous Black n Mild's. Gwen could only imagine what flavor he was smoking. She would be lying if she didn't miss that smell.

"Ouais, je l'ai fait. C'est une honte. At-on dit ce qu'ils vont faire encore?" he asked. _(translation: Yeah, I did. It's a shame. Has anyone said what they're gonna do yet?)_

Gwen shrugged.

"Je ne sais pas. J'ai essayé de faire que tout le monde va bien. Quelqu'un va me combler plus tard." she answered. _(Translation: I don't know. I've been trying to make sure everyone is alright. Somebody will fill me in later.)_

He nodded and took a deep drag of his cigarette.

" Eh bien, maintenant que vous savez tout le monde va bien, la vraie question est: êtes-vous bien, ma chérie?"

_(Translation: Well, now that you know everyone is alright, the real question is: are you alright, darling?)_

Gwen shrugged and let out a heavy sigh. It was times like these where she was so happy she could make noises. She shook her head, her tears overflowing her eyes one by one.

"Non, ma chérie. Je ne suis pas bien. Elle est ma sœur! Et elle met tout un tas de gens innocents à travers la même merde que nous avons vécu! Peut-être même pire" she grabbed some tissues and blew her nose. _(Translation: No, darling. I'm not ok. She's my sister! And she's putting innocent people through the same shit we went through! Maybe even worse!")_

"Je suis tellement inquiet que si je laisse quelqu'un d'entre vous de ma vue qu'elle va vous prendre et faire des choses terribles à vous! Je dois lui, Remy arrêter, je dois juste!"

(_Translation: I'm just so worried that if I let any of you out of my sight that she'll take you and do terrible things to you! I have to stop her, Remy, I just have to!"_

Remy LeBeau smiled and blew a ring of smoke out.

"Ecoute, ma chérie, comment ça sur Remy arriver là et rester avec vous un peu?" he suggested. Gwen blew her nose again. By the time he would get here, that is if he was smart and drove his car; which she knew he would, it would basically be Christmas. She would have to invite him to the Christmas get together at Wade's. That wouldn't make him too happy, but right now she couldn't care less. She might as well take Kyle, too, since she doubted his parents would want him with the family. _(Translation: Listen, darling, how's about Remy come up there and stay with you for a bit? )_

"Etes-vous sûr? Il serait tout à fait la route et je ne veux pas vous déranger." Gwen replied. _(Are you sure? It'll be quite the drive and I don't wanna inconvenience you.)_

"Rien n'est trop gênant quand cela a à voir avec vous, ma chérie." he assured her. Gwen kissed the tips of her fingers and pressed them to Remy's face on the monitor. _(Translation: nothing is inconvenient when it has to do with you, darling.)_

"Vous êtes trop bon pour moi, Remy." she said, her voice cracking. She smiled happily as Remy blew her a kiss through the monitor. _(Translation: "You're too good to me, Remy.")_

"Pas aussi bon que je pouvais être, ma chérie. Je te verrai dans quelques jours." he gave her another devilish wink before logging out of Skype. _(Translation: Not as good as I could be, darling. I'll see you in a few days.)_

Gwen smiled happily and dabbed at the few tears that still leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Everyone she knew was safe and sound. Gambit was coming up to see her and Wade should be here any moment.

"Knock! Knock!" the merc's voice rang through her room as he opened the door and entered. Gwen leapt up off her bed and slammed into her mutate with full force. She hadn't been this worried about him since he fought unnamed henchmen numbers 1 and 2 that you all probably forgot about by now.

"Whoa! Miss me much?!" he exclaimed, shutting the door behind him. Gwen ripped his mask off and began kissing every inch of skin as she could.

_"Wow! She greets us almost like how Mr. Shuggums greets us!"_

_**"Only better cuz she has boobs!"**_

The mischievous mercenary claimed her fluttering lips and seized the opportunity to grab her breasts firmly in each hands. He knew why she was worried. He had heard the news. It had suddenly had become a frightening time to be a mutant.

_"I wonder if Dana's offer applies to mutates as well?"_

_**"It's not like we're gonna join up with her anyways. Now focus! We have boobs in front of us!"**_

"Aw, yeah. Deze feel real nice." he murmured, giving each breast a squeeze, in his deep South voice.

"I was so scared they took you." she replied. He tweaked her nipples through her shirt, incredibly happy she was wearing a sports bra, causing her to gasp.

"Don't be scared." he murmured, kissing her neck up and down "I'm here to make you forget about all the bad things."

"Oh yeah?" she challenged, reaching between them to grab the bulge in his pants "How to you plan to do that?"

_"Ohhhhhh, that's nice."_

"Follow me to the bed and find out." he winked, pulling her by her hand. Once they reached the bed, he spun her around and laid her gently on the bed.

He was all on her in seconds, kissing her from her lips, to her ear lobes, to her neck, and all over her body. She held onto his bald head the entire time, so thankful for his presence and for his affections.

A few hours later, Gwen laid naked in Wade's arms underneath the light of the moon. He continuously stroked her bare arm with his thumb and kissed the top of her head every now and again. Despite not being armed or even protected by clothing, Gwen felt safe. And, as always when he held Gwen through her weakest moments, Wade felt like a hero.

"Don't worry, Gwen." he cooed "Your sister won't take you or me. I promise."

"I'm just so scared I won't be able to do anything to save anyone...just like last time." she whimpered, holding tight to the fabric of his costume.

_"She must mean how she got tricked to become part of Weapon X!"_

**_"Duh? How stupid are you?"_**

_"Not that stupid. Just reminding our readers so they don't get the wrong idea about our girlfriend."_

"Look, you got fooled once and you're a smart lady. You won't get fooled again. You can take your stupid kid sister." he replied. Gwen giggled and pulled her comforter over the two of them.

"Thanks, Wade." she yawned.

"And, hey, if worse comes to worse, you've always got me and the X-Team to swoop in and save the day."

_"That sounds like something a real superhero would do!"_

Heh, Superpool. Not as cool as Deadpool, but it still had a nice ring to it. Fine, from now on, Wade would be Gwen's Superpool. Up, up, and away.

Gwen let out a very loud and random snore.

**_"More like snooze, snooze, and asleep."_**

_"Sounds good to me!"_

Wade closed his own eyes and pulled Gwen close to him, relieved that she had not been one of the abducted.

Raven walked down the dark, dank, hallways of her nightmares; her bare feet making the only audible noise in the small rectangular space. Lined up on either side of her were rusted cages upon cages filled with people. She recognized a few faces; none were any of her newest friends though.

"It's all your fault."

"You could've saved us."

"Coward."

These were the faces of those abducted. Their accusatory stares literally bored fiery holes into Raven's flesh; which continuously healed upon being damaged. She wished she could say something to them, but her mouth wouldn't open. Just like her last nightmare, her movements were completely beyond her control.

A pair of doors opened in front of her and Raven entered what appeared to be an operating room. A few surgeons and nurses rushed around in slow motion with tools and bloody rags in their hands. She could see someone was being operated on, but who was it?

"Ah how good of you to join us." one of the men surrounding the table said, turning to greet her. He pulled down his mask, making his identity perfectly clear.

"Please, come here and see the latest addition to the pool." he swept his hand out to the patient he was operating on. Raven took a few steps forward, reaching out with a tentative hand towards the bloody sheet that covered the body.

With one quick movement, she pulled the sheet down, trying to resist the urge to vomit.

Laying with her eyes closed on the table was none other than Raven herself. Her throat was already showing signs of healing, was clearly stitched shut. Her skin was almost deathly pale and she could barely see her own chest rise and fall.

"The first Deadpool had its complications." Stryker explained, pacing around the body proudly "But this one...this one is perfect. Of course, her cancer accelerated like the last, but at least it hasn't caused any damage to that beautiful face." He stroked the side of the unconscious Raven's face, making the real Raven shudder in disgust. It was growing harder and harder for her to breathe.

"Her entire being is controlled through a very intricate collar inside her throat. This way she will never be able to defect. Nevermore will she be able to speak out against us. Nevermore be able to have any more weaknesses. Nevermore will she be able to obey anyone else, but me. Nevermore will she-"he paused and made deliberate eye contact with the real Raven. His face-the face she just remembered that she loathed so much- made her vomit. She puked onto the concrete, holding onto the metal operating table for support.

"Funny, I just came up with a new name for this dark beauty." he touched her hair, only causing the real Raven to vomit more.

"Raven." he cooed softly into the dream Raven's ear "Welcome to the pool, Project Raven."

He pressed something on the side of Raven's neck, causing the dream Raven's eyes to shoot open just in time to meet the real Raven's eyes.

Raven shrieked and opened her eyes to the all to real darkness of her own room. She panted and gasped for air desperately, tasting vomit on her tongue. Guess if you vomit in your dreams, you vomit in real life. Almost instantly, she felt a weight on her shoulders.

Without thinking, she snatched her small pocketknife and drove it into her assailant. She brought it in again and again until her eyes adjusted and her ears registered a sound other than her own panicked breathing.

"Gwen! Babe! C'mon that tickles!" Wade's voice floated into her ears. Gwen stopped stabbing and pulled the knife out, throwing it on the floor. She leaned over and turned on the light.

"Oh God! Wade! I'm so sorry!" she gasped as her eyes laid themselves upon the sizable hole in his side. She looked down at her hands and at the amount of Wade's blood that was on them.

"Wade, I didn't mean to I just-"

"Relax, babe." he interrupted, grabbing some paper towels to wipe the blood off her hands.

**_"Good, God, she's shaking like a leaf!"_**

_"Or a rat dog in the winter!"_

"It's ok." he told her, trying his best to ignore the voices in his head. He brought her into his body and held her trembling form together.

"I stabbed you!" she cried "I thought you were Stryker and I stabbed you!"

"I get stabbed a lot, babe." he replied "And it doesn't matter. You should know that better than anyone."

She continued to cry and shake, curling her legs up against him. She couldn't get those images out of her head. And to make matters worse: it was what her own sister- her flesh and blood- had in mind for countless members of the mutant population. She had no idea where she was. She had no idea how she could make things right.

"You know, you're really pretty when you're throwing up." Wade commented. Gwen, despite her panic, let out a snort. She glanced over to the side of her bed where her trashcan rested full of vomit.

"You did that?" she asked.

"I didn't make all the pretty colors, but yeah, I took care of ya, babe."

She smiled and pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Thanks for that, Wade. I would kiss you, but my breath is kinda nasty."

He shrugged and kissed her cheek.

"Eh, I've smelled worse, but you are naked. I think that's thanks enough."

Raven laughed and reached over to switch the lights off. Yeah, it was gross, but she was too tired to go brush her teeth. All she wanted to do was lay in the quiet dark with Wade.

The pair laid down with Gwen resting on Wade's chest, listening to the steady sound of his heart beating. He pulled the comforter over the two of them and wrapped his arms around her.

"We'll find her, babe. We'll stop her from making guinea pigs of us all, ok?"

She nodded and closed her eyes.

"Ok, Wade. I trust you." she murmured as she fell back into the dream realm once more.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams_

_Haunted by Evanescence _

_Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus_


	27. Chapter 27

_Hey! Anyone else super excited for Marvel: Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D.? If not, you better be because it looks really epic! _

_Anyways, Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or anything else that is Marvel property. I don't own any music, movies, etc. that are referenced/used/whatever either. I do own Raven and any other OCs. Enjoy!_

_Also, don't forget to rate, review, favorite, whatever. DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE PREMIRE OF AGENTS OF S.H.E.I.L.D. TONIGHT! GET HYPED!_

* * *

Raven panted as she dodged and weaves her way through the obstacle course in the Danger Room. She had been running this course pretty much every day for a week since her sister had made her decree. It had been a week full of abductions that added five more to those missing. None of them were Raven's friends, though, and she intended to keep it that way.

The black haired girl dogged a flamethrower and rolled against a wall; panting heavily and checked how much ammo she had left in her semi-automatic handguns.

"Gwen, how about we call it a day?" Kyle's voice rang over the intercom "You've ran this simulation like three times already! Don't you have a Christmas dinner you need to prepare?"

Raven rolled her eyes. Yes, this was the third time she had ran through the hostage simulation on the hardest difficulty. Yes, she did have a fat Christmas goose that needed seasoning and some Louisiana style Christmas gumbo to be made. Did she need her seventeen year old protégé telling her that? No.

"Look, I need to run through this so each time is perfect." she replied, putting her guns back in their holsters. She reached behind her and pulled out her two katana swords with a flourish. As much as she loved guns, blades were her favorite. Slicing and dicing enemies was an art and each one was different. Each piece was irreplaceable.

"But you've saved the hostage every time!" he whined "And in record time, I might add."

Raven tightened her fists around the handles of her swords.

"The point is to do it so the hostage isn't taken." she answered, her eyes fixed on her target. For now, the plastic crash test dummy was disguised to look like a little girl in a pink dress and yellow pigtails. A bit unrealistic, considering the terrain was the lower east side of the city at night, but that wasn't the purpose of this exercise.

"She's got a few more blocks before she gets to the safe point." Raven stated, mostly to herself, "And I'm gonna make sure she gets there."

She leapt out from her cover and into the air, flipping a few times before landing behind the girl. Almost instantaneously, a barrage of bullets erupted from all sides. Raven flourished her swords, spinning that at an inhuman speed, and deflecting the shots with ease.

More enemies leapt at her from all sides and, one by one, she took them down. She slit their throats and stabbed their vital organs. There was no playing around in this place. If this was real, each move had to take down an enemy because, who knows how many would be against her in real life.

Raven continued to slaughter each enemy that dared entered her self-titled "kill circle" around the little girl. One thing she learned through this exercise was that maintaining a tight defensive border around her target was key.

She never worked to hard to try and protect a life, rather than take it, in her entire life. It almost brought a smile to her face as she drove her blades into the bodies of her opponents.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl enter the safe zone. In that child, she saw Wade, Gambit, Kyle, and all her other friends. She even caught glimpses of those she had killed while under Stryker's control.

An applause consisting of two people rang out over the intercom and the holograms around her faded. Raven stood, panting, and sheathed her swords.

"Didja pay attention, boy" Gambit told Kyle "Dat's why dey call her Death's Dancer."

He kissed the tips of his fingertips and held them up.

"C'est magnifique!"

Raven giggled and wiped the sweat off her brow. She looked up at the now visible control room and waved happily. Gambit and Kyle waved back with just as much emotion.

"C'mon now, chere. I think we got us a goose that needs cookin."

After encouraging Kyle to go and spend some time trying to get Penny to see him as something other than a drunk and a quick wardrobe change later, Gambit and Raven found themselves walking towards the kitchen. The halls were sparsely populated due to the fact that most of the students returned home for the winter break.

"Vous ne pouvez pas sauver tout le monde, ma chérie." Gambit muttered, choosing to speak French as to elude any questioning and curious ears. Raven told the X-Men almost everything. They didn't need to know the extremely nasty bits. Who knows how they would react. (translation: you can't save everyone, darling.)

"Je n'essaie pas de sauver tout le monde. Seulement ceux qui comptent." she answered, pinching her companion's cheek. Since he arrived, she felt more at ease. This way she knew he was safe and, if he did manage to find trouble, she could be right there to save him. (translation: I'm not trying to save everyone. Just the ones who matter.)

Remy laughed and put his hands behind his head.

"So, your beau lookin' forward to our big Christmas celebration?"

Gwen groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. That was a fun day when she decided to tell Wade that yet another man was coming over and it was the man he currently hated the most. Yeah, that got Gwen about an hour of a toddler like tantrum followed by another couple of hours convincing the crazy mercenary that there was nothing between her and the Ragin Cajun.

"I think in his own way he is." she replied "I just don't understand why he didn't get so worked up when I told him Kyle was coming."

"Well, dat's cuz Kyle's a boy and not a strikin' young southern gentleman like myself." the devilish Cajun replied. Gwen smacked the man's head playfully.

"Remy, you are just the worst!" she teased, but she knew he was right. Besides, they did have a history. Throw in their chemistry and add Wade's obvious image issues and you got yourself one jealous boyfriend.

It was nice of him to suck it up and let her have some peace of mind for Christmas.

Once the pair entered the kitchen, they were greeted with the sound of vigorous chopping and various liquids bubbling.

"Wheeeeeeeeeen the moon hits your eye like a big piiiiiiiizza pie. Thaaaaaat's amore!" Deadpool sang as he stirred one of the pots. Raven couldn't help, but laugh hysterically. This was almost as funny as the bra hat. His horrible singing combined with his ridiculously tall chef's hat and exaggerated movements made for an excellent memory.

Raven pulled out her phone and snapped a picture just before her mentally unstable lover registered their presence.

"Ah! Gwendolyn! You should know better than to bring rats into my kitchen!" Deadpool exclaimed in a fake French accent, pointing a wooden spoon at Remy LeBeau.

"Il n'y a pas de rats ici." Raven replied, crossing the kitchen to place a gentle kiss on his masked cheek "Juste deux hommes qui me tiennent à cœur très."  
(translation: There are no rats here. Just two men who I care about very much.)

Deadpool blinked, dumbfounded. He didn't know Raven was multilingual.

**_"Interesting. Wonder how many others she knows."_**

"Hey!" he grabbed her and held her in place "We're in America. So we speak American in our kitchens."

"And everywhere else?" she teased, looking up at him playfully. He gave her a wink.

"Whatever you want, babe."

Gwen giggled and pushed away from the mercenary. She looked at the questionable food and shuddered.

"Wade, what were you trying to accomplish here?"

"Well, I was making some of that gumbo crap." Wade explained, pointing at an open cookbook "Which to what I gathered from that book thing is just a whole bunch of crap in a pot."

Gambit picked up the cookbook and flipped through the pages. He would say something, but Wade was pretty much taking care of that for him. The Cajun couldn't believe the woman he had grown so affectionate towards picked this freak of nature.

Raven sighed and took a daring taste of the failed gumbo. She grimaced as the bitter concoction touched her tongue. It was nasty, but not unfixable.

"Just tell me you didn't touch the goose, Wade."

He shook his head and pointed at one of the stainless steel fridges.

"Nah, your precious bird is still in there."

She smiled.

"Good. Now, Remy, you fix this gumbo. Wade and I will take care of the bird." she instructed. Remy snapped the book shut and tossed it on the table. As if a Louisiana native such as himself needed a cookbook in order to fix botched gumbo.

Raven happily pressed a button on her phone making her music flow through the kitchen. She and Kyle had set this system up in the kitchen just for such usage. Anyone who could connect to the school's wi-fi could use it.

"I bet you want the goodies." she sang, sticking her butt out and shaking it in an exaggerated way "Bet you thought about it. Cuz you all hot and bothered. Man, let's not talk about it."

"Vous n'avez aucune idée, ma chérie." Gambit said, giving a wink in Raven's direction. Her cheeks immediately turned a bright red and she tried her best to focus on her cooking. Deadpool was not amused. (translation: "You have no idea, darling.")

"What did you just call me?" he asked the Southerner. Gambit chuckled in amusement as he added some spices to the gumbo.

"I said you have a face that Pablo Picasso would be proud of."

Deadpool's eyes narrowed in hate.

_"Damn him. Why'd he have to come back from Louisiana!"_

**_"Because of Gwen, idiot. And that's why we're gonna play nice when she's around, got it?"_**

It borderline literally killed Deadpool to grit his teeth and help Raven get the goose out of the fridge instead of tearing into the Southern mutant like the breakfast burrito he had this morning.

"Remy, be nice!" Raven chastised her guest as she placed the bird down on the table. She reached over and gave Wade's arm a reassuring squeeze, not surprised to find his muscles tensed as if he was about two seconds away from walking across the room and socking Gambit right in the jaw.

"Thanks for being the mature one." she whispered before blinking in disbelief "Wow, imagine that. Wade Wilson: the Mature One."

Wade smirked and stuck in finger under his mask and in his mouth. After making sure it was wet enough, he pulled it back out and stuck it in Gwen's ear. She shrieked in disgust and smacked his hand away frantically.

"Is that better?" he asked "I mean, I've got a reputation to defend. My fans demand it of me."

She rolled her dark eyes and began to rub the goose down. Raven had heard rantings and delusions from many psychotics over the years; she's even had a few delusions herself, but she had never heard something so intricate as being part of a comic book or a "fan fiction"...whatever that was.

"Whatever you say, sugar." she said, "Just remember paybacks are a bitch."

A couple of hours later, Raven stood over by the sink scrubbing the dirty dishes with all of her might. Deadpool stood next to her, having reluctantly taken over drying duty.

Much to Raven's surprise, they had gotten a lot of what she wanted to get done completed. She would reheat the gumbo and the goose over at Wade's after she cooked the appetizers: a shit ton of taquitos. Was it the typical Christmas dinner? No. But it was unique because everyone had their own contribution to the feast, even though Raven basically would be cooking everything on her own; not that she minded.

"Hey, chere," Gambit called to her, holding a steaming wooden spoonful of gumbo "Could ya give this a taste?"

Raven scrubbed her last dish and handed it to Deadpool, wiping her wet and partially soapy hands off on her pants.

"I'll give ya a taste of somethin..." Deadpool mumbled as he watched Raven saunter over to the Cajun "How does a whole bunch of lead with a cupful of c4 sound?"

**_"Like Emril says..."_**

_"Bam!"_

Deadpool giggled cheerily to himself as he worked on his dishes, imagining Gambit exploding into a billion tiny, bloody pieces. Raven raised an eyebrow at hued dishwashing partner as Remy blew on the steaming gumbo.

"Mmmmm." Raven closed her eyes and let her taste buds do the seeing for her as she tasted the gumbo. Gambit really was a miracle worker when it came to Cajun cuisine.

"You like it, chere?" the Cajun asked. She nodded furiously and dipped the spoon into the gumbo again, taking another generous taste of the dish.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I do!" she shoved the spoon into his hands so she wouldn't suck up the gumbo like the bottomless pit her stomach had just morphed into "It tastes just like the gumbo we made for Christmas back in Louisiana!"

"Wait, you guys celebrated Christmas together?!" Deadpool exclaimed, approaching the pair. Raven blushed, and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well, yeah." she replied "I lived with him for two years."

It wouldn't have been such an embarrassing thing to tell Deadpool, if it wasn't for the memories paired with it. The first year, it had snowed, which according to Gambit was fairly rare. He had plowed a small path down to a fire pit next to the swamp waters and they shared a couple bottles of wine while cooking gumbo under the starlit sky. Due to the cold, the pair shared one large, thick blanket and were pressed close against each other.

The second year, Gambit caught a cold and Raven had decided to try her hand at making gumbo. It wasn't going too well and Gambit made sure to let her know that by shouting at her from his place on the couch. He eventually lost his patience and decided to take over. However, instead of doing everything himself, Gambit had stood behind her for the entire duration of cooking the dish; using her body as a shield from the germs that radiated off of his body. She didn't understand why he cared so much then; he knew she had a healing factor and therefore couldn't get sick. However, now she was starting to get an idea.

"They were the best Christmases of my life, chere." Gambit added with a wink. Raven blushed even deeper. Nothing particularly scandalous happened on either of those Christmases, but they way he was acting any outsider could assume there was something lurking beneath the surface.

_"That dick! C'mon! Let's blow this guy out of the water! Let's tell them what we have in mind for Raven's Christmas present!"_

_**"No! You have any idea how pissed Raven would be if she heard that come out of our mouth? She'd think that's all we want!"**_

"Oh!" Raven cheered as the next song came on "I love this song!"

She ran over and grabbed Deadpool's hand, leading him into the empty space of the kitchen. They began to dance and swing to the smooth sounds of Frank Sinatra. When the pair turned so Raven's back was facing Gambit, Deadpool threw up both of his middle fingers and made a face under his mask.  
Gambit rolled his eyes and took of his apron.

"Alright, chere, I'm gonna head over to the rec room. Let me know if ya need anything." he said. Deadpool spun Raven out so the tips of her hair almost touched the ground, leaving her giggling uncontrollably.

"Don't worry, chere." Deadpool replied "I think I've got her covered."

Hours later, an all too giddy Raven returned to her room alone. Wade had spent a solid two hours successfully convincing her that nobody was gonna come snatch him up in the middle of the night and, even if they did, they'd just end up being useless piles of meat that she could use in her gumbo.

She shut the door behind her and shrugged off her jacket. He was right, though. Not about the gumbo, but about the other thing. Just because there's all this crazy shit going on, life didn't have to stand still. She wasn't going to let her sister have all this power over her.

Raven hopped onto her bed and drew the blinds shut. She reached under her bed and pulled out the long forgotten box of footage from Three Mile Island. Since receiving the package all the way back in October, the black eyes of Raven has seen a great deal of what went on. However, she had failed to see what all of the sick experiments had to do with her.

She pulled out her headphones and plugged them into her laptop before inserting the next disk.

"Our next subject has voluntarily agreed to participate in our program." Stryker's horribly evil sounding voice narrated. Gwen's eyes scanned the screen for any clues, files, or anything that could lead her to something.

"Bring him in." Stryker ordered. The camera panned over to the doors. They burst open to reveal an incredibly handsome man with blonde hair and blue eyes. His head was hung slightly and Gwen could tell by the color of his skin that he was sick.

"Tell us your name." Stryker demanded of the sickly man. The man coughed and lifted his head. Even in this state, the man's beauty was striking. However, Gwen remembered this face.

She paused the video and zoomed in on the man's face. Some of his features had been hindered by the level of his condition and the poor quality of the footage, but there was no mistaking it.

"It's you." Gwen murmured, her fingers touching the screen as if she could make some kind of contact with the man. According to older footage she had seen, Gwen was treated horribly whilst in Stryker's care. She was imprisoned in a dark and dank cage and was barely given any food. She had spoken out and even encouraged rebellion amongst her fellow imprisoned mutants. Her loud mouth earned her repeated beatings from a mutant in Stryker's service known to her only as Sabertooth.

Gwen cringed and rubbed her arms. That was before her healing factor, back when injuries lasted longer than a few hours. Even when she was beaten and broken, the savage Sabertooth continued his "disciplinary actions" until Stryker would call upon him over the intercom.

However, on one fateful day, Gwen had managed to pick the lock to her cell using a chicken bone. She had freed as many of her companions as she could and ,together, they used their combined strengths and wits to escape their ward. They even made it as far as the exit point before Sabertooth and a couple of guards.

Being a mercenary, Gwen, along with a few other mutants with combat ability fought back against their captors, giving their friends a chance to escape.

As the known leader of the rebellion, it was ordered that she was to be treated with extreme discipline. Naturally, Sabertooth was all to eager to comply.

She faced off with the savage mutant with nothing, but the flimsy shank she had crafted out of a piece of shrapnel, a stick, and some pieces of her clothes. However, in her decrepit condition, she was no match for him and he beat her into the ground.

"You weak, cancerous, piece of shit." he growled, picking her up by her long black hair "I don't even know why Stryker keeps you around."

She was too weak and battered to move. What was going to happen next, she wasn't certain. It seemed as if death was staring her in the face when a long katana blade rested on Sabertooth's neck.

"Now, now, if you keep treating ladies like that, there's no way you're ever gonna lose that v-card of yours."

Gwen blinked out of her musings and stared at the man's handsome face. There was no mistaking it. She knew he was part of Stryker's special team. He had been so kind to her after that. He would bring her special desserts in her cage and make her smile with his joking and constant talking. He had done this every day for about two weeks until, one day, he just stopped showing up.

"So this is where you were." she mused, touching the screen one last time before zooming out and hitting the space key.

"I guess now I finally get to know your name, stranger."

"My name is Wilson. Wade Wilson." the striking man said in a fake James Bond voice. Gwen nearly fainted. That was Wade? But this man, this man was so handsome. Not to mention that he was clearly sane. The only thing these two men shared was their quick wit and smart mouth.

"I'm a human who likes long walks on the beach, chimmichangas, and some good ol' Jim Beam." he continued with a wink. Stryker was clearly irritated and Gwen couldn't help but let a tiny smirk crack her shocked features. Even in his ailing state, his loudmouth ways were as strong as ever.

"Ugh." Stryker groaned before the camera panned back to focus mainly on him. In the background, Gwen could see nurses and surgeons stripping Wade down to his birthday suit and helping him into the experimental tub.

"Wade, here, was just recently diagnosed with stage four skin cancer." Stryker explained "And has agreed to participate in the Weapon X experiments so his cancer can be cured."

Gwen's hand slapped over her mouth. Not only had Wade contracted the same cancer her mother died from, but he had also been roped into participating in the experiments the same way she had.

"Stryker, the patient is ready." one of the nurses said. Stryker nodded.

"Very well. Let us begin."

"This healing factor, extracted from the mutant Wolverine, once introduced to the subject will heal the subject's cancerous cells and provide him with accelerating healing abilities in the future, bringing us one step closer to creating the ultimate soldier."

There it was again. The key word she had written in her secret notebook of all of her findings. Super soldier. Ultimate solder. It was all the same. But just what was his plan? Was he going to force mutation upon mutants and humans alike? Or was he going to develop a syrum?

"Hey, let's hurry this up!" Wade shouted from the table "I got me a lunch date to keep."

"Very well." Stryker said, with some hint of satisfaction in his voice "Begin the procedure."

Wade was lowered into the tub slowly. Upon complete submersion, Stryker gave the order to begin the injections.

Gwen could hardly watch as the strange colored liquid was injected into the only man who had shown her any kindness during her time at Three Mile.

His heart monitor started beeping faster and faster. He began to thrash about in pain, his face scrunched up in agony, and bubbles escaping his open mouth as he screamed from beneath the water's surface. Watching the only human being who had shown her so much kindness in that hellhole was torture enough. Knowing that he was the man that she was now in love with was just the last nail in the coffin. She had to keep her hand planted over her mouth to keep from making her distress known.

From a professional standpoint, this was the part where her memory was a bit fuzzy. She never remembered anything other than she had her voice one day and woke up with accelerated cancer, a healing factor, heightened senses, and not voice.

Much to Gwen's surprise, even though Wade's heart rate began to slow and his temperature began to drop back to normal, his heart was strong and didn't stop. However, something was wrong. She couldn't tell if it was the remaining bubbles in the water, but his skin looked like it was all deformed. Plus, his hair was all gone.

As he sat up, the doctors and nurses, as well as Stryker, cringed and shrieked in disgust. Gwen, on the other hand, felt nothing, but pity and sadness.

The man who was just so handsome just minutes before emerged from the tub as some grotesque thing that looked like someone shoved the man in a vat of acid instead of a tub of water.

"What is it my hair?" he asked, struggling to sit up "Crap, did I lose some of my hair?"

His entire body was covered with lesions and scars, which Gwen had to assume was from the skin cancer. It was the same thing that had happened to her, but on the outside. He was so beautiful, so charming, and full of life. To witness it all being taken away from him was just the worst thing she could ever imagine. Gwen felt familiar wet saltyness drip from her eyes and down her face. When did she start crying? How long had she been crying for?

"Take him to the West wing with all of the other failures." Stryker spat, turning around to write something down in a file "Next up will be our little black Raven. But not until next week."

Gwen paused the video just as Stryker was opening a file cabinet to insert the file he had written on. Even though she was so distraught, Gwen still needed to find out any information she could and this was her first lead in ages. This file cabinet could hold any information she needed.

It was on that island, though, probably buried beneath tons of ruins. Plus, Dana was probably tracking her every move. She couldn't lead her evil sister straight to the island. Right now, she just had a bunch of mutants in her custody and nothing to experiment on them with.

Through tear filled eyes, Gwen made a note of the time stamp if the video so she could analyze it further.

Just as she finished, there was a knock at the door. She quickly ejected the DVD and snapped her laptop shut. After hiding all of the evidence, Gwen rushed to the door and opened it with a flourish.

"Hey, chere. I was just wonderin' if ya-" the red eyed Cajun paused and stared at Gwen's still tear filled eyes.

"Have ya been cryin', chere?" he asked. Gwen forgot about that little detail. She rubbed at her eyes, willing for the tears to go away.

"Yeah," she lied "I was just watching The Phantom of the Opera."

Gambit smiled knowingly and shook his head.

"Now, why would you go and watch that alone, chere?" he asked "Ya know it makes ya cry every time."

Gwen rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"I just felt like watching it, so what's up?"

"Well, I was just wonderin' if ya wanted to share some coco with me outside. It's a beautiful night."

Gwen didn't doubt that. She didn't doubt that the handsome Remy LeBeau would just add to the beauty of the night. However, after what she just witnessed, beauty really wasn't what she wanted to see right now.

"How about we just bring the coco inside my room and watch some Casino instead?" she suggested. Remy gave her one of his famous ladykiller grins.

"Dat's the best idea I heard all night, chere."

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_That's Amore by Dean Martin_

_Goodies by Ciara_

_ I've Got the World on a String by Frank Sinatra_

_Going Under by Evanescence _


	28. Chapter 28

_This chapter is kinda lengthy! Be sure to rate, review, favorite, and blah blah blah_

_Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, Deadpool, or any songs/movies/tv shows/etc. I do own Raven, though. Enjoy!_

* * *

Gwen winced in pain as she drew some of her own blood into a test tube. True, she had no high school degree and spent most of her free time killing people for money, but that didn't stop her from pursuing any other interests. She had studied science and biology extensively; especially after learning she had contracted cancer. So, in short, she knew enough about the subject to be able to conduct some scientific research of her own.

The discovery she had made last night was quite a remarkable one, indeed. Two out of the three known surviving carriers of the healing factor were diagnosed with stage four cancer. It seemed too coincidental to be accidental.

"Maybe there's an anomaly in my blood." Gwen muttered, holding up the test tube and flicking the sides "If I can find it and isolate it maybe I can find a clue about the others who Stryker chose."

Sensing a presence, she quickly labeled the test tube and shoved it in her personal refrigerated transport unit that she had oh-so cleverly disguised as a lunchbox. She hunched over a microscope and examined some human skin cells that she had set up for just such an occasion.

"Gwendolyn!" Hank's deep baritone announced as he entered the lab "I never would've expected you to be an aspiring scientist!"

Gwen smirked and spun around in her stool. Sitting her in her jumpsuit, lab coat, and her hair pulled up into a high ponytail, Gwen really did look like a weird mix S&M and some kind of nerd fetish; aka a drunk college girl's attempt at being a "sexy scientist". Or maybe even a scientist from Final Fantasy. Wade would have a field day if he could see her now.

"Actually, I wanted to be a scientist growing up." she chuckled "I wanted to study the similarities and differences between mutants and humans. I wanted to see if there could be anything that mutants have that could be used to help humans and vice versa."

Hank nodded approvingly and peeked into the microscope.

"A very noble ambition. Are you thinking of pursuing that here?" he asked. Gwen shook her head.

"Not so much. I mean, it's interesting, of course, but I don't think I have the same drive as before...I've got too many other things to worry about."

The fuzzy blue mutant nodded and stepped away from the microscope. Gwen subtly tucked the lunchbox under her stool, hiding it behind her feet.

"Don't be so sure." he countered "I've seen the drive you still have to protect both mutants and humans. I can tell you desire for us all to coexist in peace."

Gwen nodded. She never understood how come humans were so hateful towards mutants, and vice versa. To her, everyone was just people. That's why she wanted to be a scientist in the first place; to promote equality through hard, scientific facts.

"Yeah, of course that's what I want." the dark haired woman replied, thinking about her new skill set as a fighter "I just can't get there the same way you can."

She shrugged the white lab coat off and pulled her lunchbox out, slinging the red container over her shoulders.

"I really admire you and all you've done and continue to do, Mr. McCoy." she said, standing up "I wish I could help you in some way."

"Well, if you think you're up to it, I could always use a mutant speaker with your history."

Gwen raised a dark eyebrow. So, he read her story as well.

"By which I mean, well, you're unique in that you are one of the only people, that we know of, to emerge from those horrible experiments on that island with all of your memories intact." he elaborated "Your perspective could open the eyes of so many to the dangers of mutant discrimination."

Interesting. She never thought of doing something like that; what with her being unqualified and a taker of lives and all. So far, nobody knew of that part of her life. If she could keep it hidden, the offer Hank was giving her was like a dream come true.

"I'll think about it." she answered "Enjoy the holiday break, Mr. McCoy."

"And you as well, Ms. Pierce."

She exited the lab, carrying her lunchbox carefully on her shoulder. His offer was a dream come true, but she knew better. Nothing stayed buried for long and sooner or later, her past as a mercenary would rear its ugly head. Whether or not it would bite her in the ass was still uncertain.

Always hating the uncertain, Gwen pushed those thoughts aside, choosing instead to focus on her final preparations for her Christmas dinner. After all, it was the day before Christmas Eve; aka the day of the awkward dinner.

"Well, I'm glad you made it alright." Gwen chatted into her phone as she paced her room, waiting for her computer to finish loading its findings on her blood sample. Once again, she had to thank Tony Stark for his "borrowed" technology.

"Oh yeah. It was really nice of Penny to invite me to celebrate the holidays with her family." Rogue replied. Penny lived all the way up in Montana and had invited Rogue under the ruse of taking her favorite teacher back home for a couple weeks of skiing and fellowship, but they all knew better. She was scared, they all were. Nobody knew who was going to be abducted next and the abductions continued day by day.

"Yeah, super nice." Gwen said "I just wish you could join me for my Christmas dinner. It's just gonna be me and a bunch of boys!"

She could hear Rogue laugh on the other line and she narrowed her eyes.

"I still don't understand how you got those two boys to agree to be in the same room together for an entire evening." her friend joked.

"Well, ya see here," Gwen said in her best old Southern woman voice "It's a little thang called 'feminine wiles' that those boys go bonkers for."

"Girl, who are you talkin' to about feminine wiles!" Rouge admonished "I'm the one who taught ya all about that stuff!"

"You created a monster, Rogue." Gwen's eyes caught sight of the bright green check mark, indicating that the scan was complete.

"Hey, my sweet Southern belle, I gotta go. You have a fun break and make sure Penny opens her gift from Kyle, alright?"

"Alright, you have fun too. Make sure those boys behave!"

"Haha. Yes ma'am! See ya!"

Even though Gwen loved talking to Rogue, she was all too eager to see what her blood work revealed about her hunch. She hung up the phone and tossed it nonchalantly onto her desk.

She pressed a couple of buttons on her computer, causing the device to project her blood work all over her room. She smiled as she spun around, marveling at all the beautiful colors that filled her room. The body really was a miraculous thing, mutant or not.

"Computer, isolate any anomalies in the blood." she ordered, feeling weird that she was talking to an inanimate object that she wasn't instantly pissed at. Instantly the small multicolored circles pulled themselves from the sample and organized themselves nicely in front of her face.

Her eyes narrowed and she placed a hand on her chin. So far, there was nothing outside of the ordinary.

"Computer, can you pull up the DNA coding from this blood sample?" she asked.

"Working." her computer replied. The blood work disappeared and she watched as her own DNA structure built itself piece by piece until the double helix was complete. It's beauty was awesome. If more kids could learn about science like this, there definitely would be way more scientists in the world.

"Isolate the mutated points in the DNA, please."

Small rectangles of varying length separated themselves from the structure and scattered in an organized themselves around the jumpsuit wearing woman in a circle.

She paced around, her eyes scanning over the different sequences of code around her. It had been a while since she had to identify what different codes of DNA transcribed into.

"This would be so much easier if I had a sample of my DNA before the experiments." she groaned, rubbing her temples "And a biology book."

Only one of those things would be easily doable, however. Maybe she could contact the same person she got the experiment footage from. That would mean she'd owe him one, though, since the favor she called in from him cost her a great deal of money and made them even.

"Fuck." she cursed, clapping her hands together effectively closing the program "I fucking hate Jerry."

Jerry was a rat who had his nasty little nose in almost everything that mattered. You wanted pictures of Britney Spears in the shower, he could get them. You wanted to get legit top secret government files, he was your man. He could get you anything, for a price; which tended to fluctuate depending on what "favors" you were willing to do for him.

Luckily for Gwen, she was fortunate enough to have inadvertently saved his life twice; which earned her a grand total of two favors. The first she had foolishly used to get the best looking fake health insurance money could buy for her cancer treatments.

The downside of having any kind of relationship with Jerry, especially if you were a woman, is that he would always try to get in your pants.

Gwen cringed, recalling her last memory of him with utter disgust. He wreaked of body odor and catsup. She could still see his yellowing, plaque covered teeth as they grinned evil as he reached for her butt.

"Disgusting son of a bitch." Gwen mumbled, tugging her hair out of the ponytail, "Why do you have to be so damn useful?"

She heard a knock on her door and mentally kicked herself. That was probably Gambit, who had texted her earlier that day with an invitation to do something fun. What that was, she didn't know.

"Come in!" she called. Sure enough, Gambit entered her room. She didn't expect him to be wearing such a nice suit.

"What's with the getup?" she asked, pointing at his classy black suit. Gambit adjusted his black tie suavely.

"Aw, chere, I thought you liked it when I dressed all fancy for ya?" he replied. Gwen crossed her arms and raised a suspicious eyebrow. True, cute men in suits is just incredibly sexy, but Remy wasn't the kind of guy to throw on a fancy suit for no reason.

"Seriously, Remy, what's up?"

He sighed and pulled a piece of paper out of the inside of his jacket. Gwen took the paper and inspected it.

It appeared to be an invitation to a charity auction at the Ritz. She knew all about this affair. The richest families from all over the state would be there to pay top dollar for more shit they didn't need. It was basically a competition to see who could buy their way into the title of most "generous" rich person.

However, this invitation wasn't addressed to a Remy LeBeau. It was addressed to a Mr. Rodger Kingsley and his lovely wife Chanel.

"Remy, just what-"

"Now, now, chere, before you start chewing me out about this, hear me out." he begged. Gwen sat down on the bed, arms still crossed, and stared up at the Cajun. He must've been really excited about this if he was interrupting her before she could talk some sense into him.

"Bon, Remy, montre-moi ce que tu as. Mais parler le français. Ces murs ont des oreilles." she warned him. (translation: Alright, Remy, show me what you got. But speak French. These walls have ears.)

Remy nodded and began to pace back and forth. Wow, he really was excited. He looked just like a starving shark who had just smelled a droplet of blood from an injured fish.

"Très bien, ma chérie." he sat on the bed next to her, his knee bouncing anxiously.

"Je sais que ça a été un moment depuis que vous avez fait de l'argent facile." he began. She knew he was referring to her past as a mercenary and her brief stint of thieving with him in Louisiana. (translation: I know it has been a long time since you've made some easy money.)

"Allez." The dark haired woman said, smelling the bait. (translation: Go on.)

Remy held up the invitation, waving it back and forth excitedly.

"Cette livraison erronée est un signe! Vous et moi devons aller à cette chose et de prendre ce que nous aimons!" he declared. (translation: This mistaken delivery is a sign! You and I need to go to this thing and take what we like!)

Gwen raised a dark eyebrow, highly doubting the invitation he held really was a mistake. However, her interest really was peaking. Even though she had plenty of money for now, without a steady flow of income her funds were certain to run out.

All that aside, stealing from right underneath unsuspecting people's noses was one of the best kinds of rushes Gwen had ever felt.

"Allons, ma chérie. Je sais que je ne suis pas le seul qui a les doigts sont des démangeaisons à atteindre et prendre quelque chose." he added, as if trying to sweeten the deal even more. (translation: Come on, darling. I know I'm not the only one who's fingers are itching to reach out and take something.)

Gwen could see the ambiguity of his statement, but it didn't really matter to her at this point. She was hooked.

She smirked devilishly.

"Alright. Give me a minute and let's head out."

Remy and Gwen pulled into the Ritz in their borrowed black 2012 Cadillac. Remy tossed the keys to the valet as he walked around the car to let Gwen out.

As he opened the door, Gwen could feel all eyes glued to her. As they should be.

Her alabaster skin glowed from beneath her beautiful green evening gown that she had borrowed from Rogue's closet, with the help of Kyle. She had curled her hair and it fell gently over her right shoulder. She peeked out from under long, thick lashes while flashing a dazzling smile at Remy as she slid her arm in his.

Some classic holiday Frank Sinatra greeted them upon their entrance to the decked out hotel.

They had pulled of heists together before, but never such a high profile event. Gwen could feel her heart racing as she gripped his arm. She wasn't nervous. She was excited. They were two sharks in a tank full of guppies. These people didn't stand a chance.

"You excited, chere?" Remy muttered to his date, flashing his invitation at the bouncer. They were waved in with no problem. And here Gwen thought Remy's strange eyes would give them away? Perhaps he was too disgraced by her beauty to notice. The body really was a fantastic thing.

"Are you kidding?" she replied "This is the biggest rush I've had in forever!"

Gambit smiled in satisfaction, taking this as a one up over Deadpool. He snatched a couple glasses of champaign off of a passing waiter's tray.

"Merci, mon amour." Gwen said, clinking her glass against Remy's. They sipped their alcohol and scanned the crowds with their highly skilled eyes.

"Let's head over there." Gwen whispered into Remy's ear. Remy glanced over in the direction Gwen's dark eyes were targeting. He smirked in amusement.

"A bit ambitious, ain't we, chere?"

Gwen smacked his arm playfully.

"The correct way to say that is 'aren't we'" she corrected him "We're supposed to be upper class so we better talk like it. And yes, might as well go whole hog on this while we're here. Who knows when we'll get another chance to do this."

Remy laughed and snaked an arm around Gwen's waist. Even though he was the one with the charm, this dress was turning Gwen into a rival. He could feel himself falling for it, as if under some kind of spell. It was going to be difficult to focus on maintaining their cover with such a gorgeous woman on his arm. What made it even better was she was taken, but he always thought forbidden fruit tasted the sweetest.

"C'mon, mon chere." Remy cooed into her ear "Let's dance our way over there."

Gwen giggled and let Remy lead her over to the dance floor. They danced and weaved their way to the far side of the room, the southerner's hand never leaving the small of Gwen's back.

He smirked as he felt her hands flutter in and out of his pockets,

"Hey, chere, if this is not your style we can always go buy a room here." he teased. Gwen placed her head on his chest, hiding her blush.

"You know full well that's not what I'm doing." she retorted, snatching a huge ruby rock off an elderly woman's finger with the kind of skill even Robin Hood would be envious of.

"Aw, now, chere, why you have to go an' hurt a man's pride like that." he pouted, spinning her around so she could snatch a four strand pearl bracelet off another woman.

"Because I'm taken, honey, you know that."

He frowned, pulling her closer to him. Now, Remy wasn't the kind of guy to be bothered if a woman he was interested in was in a relationship with someone else. But there was something about losing to Deadpool that drove him up a wall.

"Not tonight." he whispered "Tonight you're ma femme, Mrs. Kingsley."

Gwen blushed even deeper, feeling her knees grow weak. Damn him and his charm! She didn't feel right dancing with him anymore; not to say she didn't like it. She felt as if she was somehow betraying Wade by doing this. Was she? She didn't know. She had never been in a relationship before.

She was also beginning to wonder if Remy's intentions really were to pull of their biggest heist so far or if they were to pull off a different kind of thievery.

It was too late to turn back now, though. She had to keep her head or else risk blowing their cover. All she had to do was keep her cool. Easy right?

Remy dipped her down low, his face inches from her own. Gwen found herself lost in his crimson eyes and knew she wore a completely dumbstruck expression on her face. It didn't help that the light shone out from behind his head. Damn him and his animal magnetism! Damn him to hell!

They were about halfway through the evening before they ran into any issues. Turns out that in order to swim with the big fish, you had to look and act like a big fish. It was child's play for two sharks.

As Gwen laughed one of the fakest laughs she had ever laughed in her life, she wondered why her brain seemed to be stuck on fishing metaphors.

"I can't believe colored contacts are the latest thing!" one of the high class ladies at the table they were at cackled. Colored contacts were the easiest way to explain Mr. Kingsley's strange eye color.

"Oh, why yes it is." Remy replied in his best high class Louisiana man voice, almost making Gwen's champagne squirt out her nose "But you know how those nice people in France know their fashion!"

"Indeed!" yet another woman at the table who's name Gwen either forgot or never received giggled "In fact, I was just about to order a set myself! But I want mine in pink!"

Gwen had to fight to keep herself from vomiting. Is this what it was like to be a member of the high class? If so, it's no wonder most of them were alcoholics. It seemed as if they had nothing to talk about except their money and what it could buy them.

"Now, I was going to buy some myself, but alas!" Gwen batted her eyelashes "My eyes are simply too dark to be hidden by any other color!"

Gwen knew Remy was thoroughly amused by her spot on high society Louisiana woman accent she had put on to match his. That was the difficult thing about working with Remy, they always had to be from either Louisiana or France.

The gentlemen at the table collectively leaned forward, as if her eyelash batting was an invitation to do so.

"Why yes, your eyes are the most wonderfully peculiar thing!" one of the men said, adjusting his monocle.

"Indeed! I have never seen eyes so dark that they're almost black!" one of the younger men added. Gwen finished off yet another glass of champagne. For a brief moment of ten seconds, she felt tipsy. She kept the small smile that hinted at a woman who was feeling the effects of the drink on her face before she continued.

"They are black, my dear sweet simpleton." she replied, laying a dreamy head on Remy's shoulder "In fact, they are how I met my dear, sweet Rodger."

This time, it was the women who leaned forward. Remy and Gwen did an excellent job of portraying a husband and wife who genuinely loved each other. These women were probably missing that spark in their marriage and, like bees to honey, were drawn into any tales of romance.

"Tell us how you two met!" one of the ladies pleaded. Gwen placed the back of her hand to her forehead, pretending she was feeling tipsy. In reality, she really didn't feel like indulging these people anymore. What she really wanted to do was to steal all the money from their purses and get the hell out of there. They had already stolen enough jewelry to open their own shop. Now it was time to expand their fortune. But they wouldn't get anywhere if they kept sitting her playing this game.

"Oh, I would, but I'm afraid my fragile condition would hinder my ability to tell the story correctly!" she groaned. Remy finished off his glass and motioned for the waiter to top him off.

"Never you fear, my good people. I can handle my alcohol better than my dear, Chanel." he announced "I may tell you the story!"

Gwen could've killed him. Just what the hell was he thinking?! They didn't need to give these people any more lies; they already trusted them! Besides, she just realized she left her phone at home and who knows how many times Deadpool had tried to call or text her.

She chose instead to stomp on his foot beneath the table, causing him to wince subtly.

"Why, yes! I remember it like it was yesterday!" Remy began "We were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. I was finishing up a business meeting and she was on holiday. I first saw her at sunset on the balcony of the fanciest restaurant in town and I knew I had to have her."

The women at the table cooed collectively. Gwen, lifted herself up off Remy's shoulder, finding herself interested in the Cajun's storytelling; even if it wasn't how they actually met.

He looked down at her, his red eyes piercing her black ones with the intensity and courage that came from a man who has summoned up the truth with a bit of help from the drink.

"She was so high above me and I didn't have a reservation to get in. Despite my better judgment, I snuck in the back and borrowed a waiter's uniform."

More coos from the women. Gwen placed a hand over his, using her eyes to asking him to continue.

"I introduced myself to her at her table and went as far as to take her order and deliver her food to her!"

The table erupted in laughter. Gwen joined them, even though she didn't find it all that funny.

"Now why would you do such a preposterous thing like that!" one of the men shouted.

"Love makes people do preposterous things, no?" the red eyed Cajun replied, reaching out and touching a lock of Gwen's dark hair. Her heart was racing and she began to feel faint. Was he using his charm on her? He never used any of his powers on her. So what the hell was he trying to do?

"Anyways, it wasn't until I was eventually found out and was about to be thrown out of the restaurant before this lovely little Southern belle," he lifted her hand and kissed it softly "invited me to stay and share dessert with her."

The women at the table dabbed at the tears from their eyes and the men grumbled to themselves about how stupid it was to stoop so low for a woman, regardless of her beauty. Gwen just blinked in stunned silence as Remy placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"A year later, I popped the question to her right up there at that same restaurant." he continued, sliding one of the largest diamond rings they had stolen that night on her ring finger under the table. Following his lead, Gwen flashed the ring to the people at the table, causing more ohhs and ahhs from the ladies at the table.

As if on cue, one of the most romantic Christmas songs sung by Doris Day began to play. Remy stood up, and helped Gwen to join him.

"Now, if you fine people don't mind, I'm going to dance with ma chere. This is her favorite Christmas song, after all." he said. Gwen stared wide eyed at him. He remembered her favorite Christmas song, now that was something.

"Remy, I don't know what you're planning, but-"

Remy pulled her close to him and they swayed back and forth. She could smell the musky scent of his cologne. His heart, which was usually so steady, beat erratically from under his tux.

"But nothin', chere." Remy told her "Like I said before, tonight I'm Mr. Rodger Kingsley and you're my beautiful Mrs. Chanel Kingsley."

If Wade was here, he probably wouldn't hesitate to slice Remy's hands right off her body in addition to other appendages. She felt the danger lurking in this situation and it wasn't just because they were commenting a high profile robbery. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see Wade to break whatever spell Remy had over her now so she could think straight.

So how come she couldn't pry herself out of Remy's arms? Why did she continue to sway back and forth with the Cajun and kept her lips shut?

"Chere, if you keep bein' so stiff, they're gonna suspect somethin'." Remy warned her. Gwen sighed and closed her eyes, trying to bring Wade's smiling face into her sights.

The image immediately made her relax and she danced more fluidly with the Southern charmer much as she had to the previous, less romantic songs earlier in the evening.

"I'll be home for Christmas." she sang softly, her eyes gently shut with images of Wade dancing with her in her bedroom under some mistletoe passed in and out of her mind "You can plan on me."

Remy looked down at his softly singing partner and smirked. He knew she wasn't singing to him. Her mind was on the deranged Wade Wilson, his unlikely competitor. True, Wade had technically won since Gwen was technically was his girl. However, as everyone knows, Remy LeBeau, Prince of Thieves, plays for keeps and does not leave the table until he has won.

"Remy, I think it's time we move to the back." she whispered just loud enough for him to hear "The auction is starting soon and if we wanna snag any big ticket items we should get moving now, while everyone is migrating to the other room."

Remy nodded and reluctantly pulled away from her. Just how was she resisting him so well, anyways? He remembered her practically being putty in his hands when she lived with him in Louisiana. All that kept him from making a move then was...well...he could've done so at anytime so he didn't have any competition back then. Now she was practically out of his reach and growing further and further the longer she stayed with that murderer for hire.

These thoughts haunted Remy as they snuck through the crowds of people into the back room.

"Drive, Remy! Drive! Drive!" Gwen shrieked as soon as the valet was out of earshot. Remy smirked and, just for Gwen's amusement, peeled out of the driveway to the Ritz; leaving the confused valet in a cloud of burnt rubber.

The dark haired woman, who blended in so perfectly with the mature upper class, now squealed with joy and clapped her hands, bouncing up and down excitedly in her seat.

"I gotta slow down sometime, chere, if we get pulled over with a whole ton of loot in our trunk, we are gonna be in a whole lotta trouble."

Gwen smacked Remy's arm as he slowed down in order to keep within the traffic laws.

"Well maybe I should drive since I'm completely sober and you had a few too many, Mr. LeBeau." she teased. Remy rolled his eyes and turned the music up a bit. He was tipsy, but not tipsy enough to hinder his driving.

"Relax, chere, you know it's the man's duty to drive his date home." he replied. Gwen smacked him upside his head.

"We weren't on a date and you know it!" she chided, settling back in her seat and gazing at the snowy roads around them as they made their way back to the X-Mansion. It was a grand heist. Not a date. No matter how romantic he was or how close they had danced together, it still wasn't a date.

"Alright, chere. If you say so." he replied with a wink as he pulled into the main entrance of the School for Mutants.

"I'll go sell what we got to my man at the port, then I'll wire your half of the profits before the night is through." he reminded her. Gwen clutched her green handbag, which she had stolen and filled with her choice of the gems and valuables they had snatched that night, and nodded before stepping out of the car.

To her surprise, Remy stepped out too, and walked her to the grand doorway with her arm tucked inside his. Despite the awful chill of the Christmas air, Gwen had to admit it was a perfect end to a perfect night; all things considered. She got to attend yet another high profile event with a man she cared about, eat free food and play dress up, and even made off with a small fortune in the process. The only thing that would seal the deal was if Wade wasn't too miffed about her forgetting her phone.

Remy could tell Gwen's focus was not on him. After several years of knowing the woman, he knew that look on her face meant she was worried about what his rival would think if he knew she had been out with him.

That word...it was so foreign to him. Rival. Someone who actually stood between him and a woman who was so head over heels not ten months ago. It was absurd and frustrating to think of, especially considering the physical and mental well-being of his opponent.

"You look like you got a bad taste in your mouth, Remy, you ok?" Gwen asked, tilting her head to the side. Remy nodded and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, I'm alright, chere. I just need to hurry up and take care of this before it gets too late."

Gwen nodded understandingly. It was nice of him to go so far out of the city to get the money, especially knowing how paranoid she was about getting kidnapped again.

"Well, this was really fun, Remy." she said "I'm really glad we did this."

"Me too, chere." he responded with a smile. He leaned down and kissed Gwen's reddening cheek tenderly.

"I'll let you know when I get there and when I get back." he informed her upon pulling away "And I'll see ya tomorrow evenin...unless you want me to drop you off at Wilson's."

Gwen shook her head. She didn't know how they would do it, but Wade convinced her that they would be able to load everything up on the scooter and bring it to his apartment without incident. He was so excited and she knew it was because it was due to the normalcy that had been robbed from him the moment he was injected with the healing factor.

"Nah, Wade's gonna pick me up. He's really excited." she told him. Driving on a scooter at top speed in the winter while balancing a bunch of food was not Gwen's idea of an ideal way to start off the Christmas festivities on Christmas Eve, but it wasn't all about her. It was about making everybody happy for at least a day before they had to return to a life full of fear and uncertainty.

"Alright, chere. Give me a call if ya need me." the red eyed Southern devil replied.

"Aye, aye, Captian." she said in her best French accent and saluting. Gambit laughed and shook his head, deciding to descend the stairs before he was further tempted to end the night with a kiss.

Sure enough, once Gwen returned to her room after getting changed into sweats and a long sleeved shirt, she found her phone had blown up with calls and texts from Wade. After listening to the first series of voicemails, finding some to be friendly, some that told her to "go to hell, you stuck up bitch", and some that begged for her forgiveness and to ignore the previous messages, Gwen decided to try to call Wade on Skype.

She only had to wait for one ring until his scarred and clearly displeased face appeared on the monitor. She could see some Christmas decorations behind his head and could tell he had tried to cover up the gaping hole in the wall, that was usually there when she called, with a giant red and green blanket.

"It's about time. Do you have any idea what time it is, young lady." he chastised her in his most feminine voice. Gwen rolled her eyes. She knew he was just worried about her, just like she had been about him.

"Yeah, yeah, mom, I know I'm grounded for a week." she replied.

"Damn right you are." he said in a joking manner, his tone quickly turning serious "But seriously, did you run into any trouble tonight?"

Depends on what you meant by trouble. Remy's obvious advances certainly were trouble enough, but she didn't need Wade retracting his agreement for the Southern charmer to join them for dinner.

"Nah, just was updating my phone." she answered. It wasn't a complete lie. She had started the updating process before she left.

"Ah, I see. You're such a slave to the demands of technology." Wade said. Gwen nodded and yawned, too tired to really argue or come up with anything witty.

"Yeah, but I'm really too tired to talk. I just wanted you to know I'm ok."

Wade smiled in approval and had a far off look on his face that Gwen knew meant he was having an internal discussion. Sometimes Gwen wished she had voices in her head. That way she would feel a bit less paranoid and afraid when she was alone.

"Aw, well, thanks babe. I'll let you go get your beauty sleep." he added with a wink "Not that you need any."

Gwen rolled her eyes again, kissing the tips of her fingers and pressing it to the computer screen.

"Aw, you're such a charmer. Nite, Wade."

"Nite, babe."

And with that the screen went black. Gwen realized she didn't turn off her laptop or had it plugged in before she left for the heist. Poor thing. Oh well, at least it let her see Wade's face one last time before she snuggled under her blankets and fell asleep.

* * *

_Song(s) Used_:

_ Puttin' on the Ritz by Ella Fitzgerald_

_White Christmas by Frank Sinatra_

_Winter Wonderland by Buddy Clark _

_Baby It's Cold Outside by Pearl Bailey/ Hot Lips Page_

_I'll Be Home for Christmas by Doris Day_

_Christmas Time by Alvin and the Chipmunks_

_Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley_


	29. Chapter 29

_Whoa_,_ it's been a while. Anyways, just warning you that this chapter contains a LEMON! Finally, right?! I mean this fic is rated 'M' for a reason, and it isn't just so I can curse as much as I want. Just putting it out there: this is my first lemon, like ever and I put a LOT of work into making it. So, let me know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, X-Men, or anything else except for Raven and Kyle! Enjoy!_

* * *

Wade woke up and stretched in his bed. Ever since he and Gwen arranged to celebrate Christmas together, he had started cranking up the heat in his apartment. Was it more comforting to wake up in a nice toasty apartment instead of waking up in an icebox? Yeah, but it cost a fortune.

_"Good thing we're getting a bunch of leftovers today!"_

_**"Yeah, with all these Christmas festivities we'll be working nonstop until next year to pay for all of this."**_

"Hey! Quit being such Debbie Downers!" Wade exclaimed, jumping out of bed "Today's the day we take our relationship with Gwen to the next level!"

His excitement was short lived when he saw his naked reflection in the full length mirror on his bedroom door.

_"You think she'll be able to handle all of that mess?"_

**_"Of course! That's what I've been saying! She loves our face! Why wouldn't you think she'd be disgusted by the rest of us?"_**

Wade touched his scarred skin delicately. He looked like a piece of tenderized meat just standing there in his bedroom alone. Next to Raven's flawless pale skin, he probably looked like a zombie.

"It's a bit overkill isn't it?" Wade wondered aloud as he continued to inspect his body. Every inch was covered in scars and unsightly markings. Nothing was spared the wrath of the accelerated cancer growth. Thanks, healing factor.

_"More like roadkill. Haha!"_

Wade chuckled, even though the joke was at his own expense. He went back to his bed to retrieve his phone. He had to send Raven a quick little good morning text before he started his day and forgot.

_"Dude, you are so whipped!"_

**_"Uh, you mean we're whipped."_**

Wade ignored the voices as he set about getting ready for today. He put on his cleanest and least patched up uniform. He even spritzed some of the fancy cologne Raven had picked up for him as a "just because" present.

After finishing up in his bedroom, Wade migrated to the bathroom. As he walked, he inspected his apartment. It was remarkable what covering up a bunch of holes could do for the whole look of the apartment. Creepy and over the top Christmas decorations aside, the apartment did look normal and like a place inhabited by a human.

"Heeeey, Mr. Shugums. How's the ball licking coming along?" Wade cooed to his lab as the dog approached his owner happily.

Oh yeah, and one dog. Wade knew Gwen loved dogs because every time she even saw a dog, she would freak out and hunt the poor thing down so she could shower it with hugs and kisses.

As Wade entered his bathroom to brush his teeth, he could hear his horny neighbors already starting on their "sexual adventures", as they liked to call it. The merc had approached the couple a few days before to ask them to keep their sex noises to a minimum. Already, it didn't look like they were going to adhere to his nice warning.

_"Good thing we have all of our bang bang sticks!"_

_**"God, I hate you."**_

"And they said to spay and neuter your pets." the mercenary sighed as he began to brush his teeth. Mr. Shugums sat loyally next to his master, leaning his head up against his thigh. Wade pat his dog on the head before spitting out into the sink.

He had tried to clean every inch of his apartment as best as he could, but his bathroom was completely hopeless. At least his toilet water was no longer brown. Plus, his bathtub was still so full of disgusting and questionable liquids, he didn't dare touch it; instead choosing to set up a bunch of red painted plywood with a sign that said "under construction" stapled on it.

Once he looked back up into the mirror, his disfigured face stared back at him. Wade touched his chin with a gloved hand. That was one benefit of having such a horrible disfigurement: he didn't have to shave every morning.

He reached over and grabbed his mask, sliding it over his face. When he looked up again, he was greeted by a mouthless red and black face with a charming look in his eyes.

"There we go. Much better." he greeted his preferred face with a thumbs up.

The Merc with a Mouth arrived at the X-Mansion on his souped up scooter. He had "borrowed" his horny neighbors' small scooter hitch. He didn't think they would mind. They hardly minded anything outside of boning each other.

_"Maybe that'll be us!"_

Wade shrugged that comment off as he jogged up the stairs to the mansion. He liked sex just as much, if not more than, any guy; but constantly boning throughout all hours of the day and night seemed a bit much. When would he get to eat any of his girlfriend's famous tacos?

**_"Maybe, with the right person, worrying about food is secondary."_**

"Yeah, right." Wade scoffed, knocking on one of the large mahogany doors "Nothing can stand between me and my precious food."

The door creaked open moments later and what laid on the other side made Wade eat his words.

_"Dude, she can stand between me and my food any day!"_

Raven stood there proudly in the sexy Mrs. Claus outfit Deadpool had picked out for her days before; complete with red and white striped tights and a Santa hat. She touched the corners of her poofed out skirt gingerly and swung side to side.

"You like?" she asked, sticking out her lower lip in a pout. Wade wiggled his fingers as he reached out and grabbed her waist, pulling her into his body.

"Best gift ever. Now, when can I unwrap it?"

Gwen giggled and blushed. She knew he would love it and she did too. It was just enough to look sexy without looking too inappropriate.

"After our guests leave!" she chided him "Now come on and help me load the food up onto the Red Rocket!"

Wade giggled at her nickname for his scooter as he entered the warm mansion. Jeeze, she even had bells on the toes of her shoes. This chick really took Christmas seriously.

Gwen had already packed up all the food and stacked it all nice and neatly at the base of the grand staircase. It wasn't much, if they were taking a car, but for a scooter it was still a daunting task; even with her organizational skills.

"You leavin' already, Gwen?" Logan asked, as he walked down the stairs. Wade immediately leapt on the stacks of food, defending them feverishly.

"He must've caught our scent!" he shouted in an Australian accent "Quick, Gwen, grab a stick and poke him while I save the food!"

Gwen rolled her eyes and pulled a small black box out of the pocket of her dress.

"My hero." she joked, tossing her hair over her shoulder "Yeah, we are. I gotta get that goose in the oven so it's got enough time to cook."

Wade growled and barked like a puppy once the headmaster reached the base of the steps.

"Need any help?" he asked, wary of the mentally unstable merc. Gwen shook her head.

"Nah, I think we got this, but here-" she tossed the black box to the claw wielding mutant "Merry Christmas."

Wolverine caught the unwrapped box and opened it. He pulled a silver pocket watch with a small wolverine carved into the surface. Yeah, Gwen stole it last night, but it was too good to resist. It was more suited for a mutant who shares the same name rather than some rich old geezer who was bound to kick the bucket soon anyways.

"A pocket watch?" he asked, confused. Gwen nodded.

"Yeah! You're a headmaster of the fanciest school around!" she exclaimed "Just what fancy professor do you know who doesn't have a pocket watch."

"Haha! She called you fancy! You're a fancy boy, girly man!" Wade cackled as he set about loading the food onto the scooter's hitch. Wolverine glared after the main source of his irritation before turning his attention to Raven.

She looked eager for a positive response from him and, even though it wasn't the ideal gift, he would be sure to hold this gift close to him because it was the first thing she had ever given him.

"I love it. Thanks, kid." he said, sliding the watch into the pocket of his jeans "You have fun with Mr. Crazyface, alright?"

"Alright." she nodded, giving him a small, quick hug before rushing out of the mansion and into the snow. Logan smirked and leaned against the stairwell, watching the black haired girl help her stubborn boyfriend rearrange the food on the scooter hitch. She was a special one. She didn't even get mad at him for not getting her a gift.

He felt a small hand tug on the corner of his shirt. He looked down at the small, gold skinned child who looked up at him with eager amber eyes.

"Mr. Logan." the child said "Ms. O wants you to come help her set up the projector so we can all watch 'It's a Wonderful Life'."

Logan ruffled the child's hair and let her lead him to the living room. He didn't see why the kids couldn't at least play outside in the courtyard. She said there was a pretty bad winter storm coming and he knew better than to argue the weather with a woman who was basically Mother Nature.

After speeding through the chilly and crowded streets of New York, the unlikely couple finally reached Wade's seedy looking apartment building. Gwen wasn't at all that surprised though, the size of Wade's contracts weren't all that impressive...at least not compared to the ones she closed. Also, he wasn't really the frugal type and typically bought whatever he damn well pleased.

**_"You really think she's gonna be willing to give up living in the X-Mansion for this dump?"_**

"Of course, I do." Wade mumbled to himself as he unloaded the food.

_**"Someone's being a bit selfish."**_

_"It's a bit too late to turn back now, stuffy. I mean it's not like we got her anything else."_

Wade gulped nervously as he handed Gwen her precious, uncooked goose.

"Well, this is...different. Certainly not what I expected, but it's got a certain..."her voice trailed off as she tried to find a right word.

"You can cut the bullshit, babe. It sucks, I know." he interjected, stepping ahead to open the door "Now hurry up and get in there. My nuts are freezing."

Gwen hurried inside, disappointed to find the inside of the building was just as cold as outside. She could still see her breath it was so cold. Maybe wearing such a skimpy outfit wasn't the brightest of ideas.

"So, where's my present?" Deadpool asked as he opened the gate to the elevator and let Raven step inside "I didn't see any really big packages in that pile of food."

"Well, that's cuz I didn't get you a big package." she replied, before seizing an all too perfect opportunity "But I do see a big package in here."

She winked and wiggled her eyebrows while Deadpool pressed up on the elevator. It took him a moment to register the joke.

"Ah, so you make dick jokes now." he replied "Looks like I'm rubbing off on ya."

"Maybe a bit." she relented looking down at the large envelope she held under her arm that contained her gift to Wade. Every single picture, as well as a few of some of the X-Men, was in there; all artfully arranged into what Raven thought was a pretty nice collage. Yeah, it seemed kinda like a lame gift to anyone, but Raven thought it would just about knock his socks off. What's the best gift to give to a man with no memories anyways? Exactly.

As the elevator ascended, Gwen noticed that it wasn't getting any warmer. She was about to complain, when she looked over and saw Deadpool's excited face. Even under the mask he seemed so giddy to have someone want to be with him for no other motive than to just be there.

She smiled, trying to hide the fact that her teeth were clashing against each other beyond her control.

"Don't worry, princess, I have the heat cranked up just for you." Deadpool assured her. Gwen let out a sigh of relief as the elevator stopped.

"Well, hurry up, then! I'm freezing my tits off!" she squealed, rushing out of the elevator as fast as she could towards the only door that held a Christmas wreath. She could hear the scratching of paws against wood as well as a deep barking.

"You have a dog?!" she exclaimed. Deadpool dug his keys out of one of his many pouches.

"No! I have a cat who just had throat surgery and is very sensitive about her new voice!" Wade admonished, opening the door. In addition to being hit with a sudden burst of warm air, Gwen was also hit with the sight of an adorable yellow lab, wagging his tail happily with a homemade Wolverine sock doll in his mouth.

"Oh...my...GOD!" Gwen shrieked, tossing her goose in the air to wrap her arms around the dog. Deadpool caught the seasoned bird nimbly. There was a reason he never told her that he had a dog. Well, actually there were two. The first one was that he was afraid she would be allergic. The second was he wanted to see her reaction when she saw his for the first time.

"Who's a little cute? Who's a little cute?" she cooed, scratching the dog behind his ears. Poor thing smelled like he hadn't been bathed in weeks, but at least he was well fed. Plus, Wade even took the time to replace his collar with a belt of bells.

"So, I guess I'm doing the cooking?" Wade asked, setting the food on the table and cracking his knuckles "I'm about to go Julia Childs on this bitch."

"Touch any of my food and I'll kill you six times over with a monkey wrench!" she yelled, abandoning the dog. Wade pulled his mask off his face and gave the girl a wink.

"Oh, feisty aren't we? Well, I can be just as feisty. Rawr." he snapped his jaws together and growled. For some strange reason, Gwen found this extremely attractive and fiddled with her hair as she went to work in the kitchen.

It wasn't the best apartment, by far. There were holes in the walls, despite Wade's attempts to cover them with cloth and decorations. There was clear evidence that dirt and grime caked the floors, sinks, and almost every surface. Plus, she could practically hear every step and noise of the surrounding neighbors; including a very feminine sounding moan.

"Um, Wade, is that what I think it is?" she asked, putting on an apron. Wade sighed and shook his head, pulling a pistol out of his holster.

"I've got it, babe. You keep doing what you need to do."

She watched him exit the apartment and shrugged. He wouldn't kill his neighbors on Christmas Eve would he?

As she worked she heard the door upstairs being kicked open and the sound of a man and woman freaking out. Wade's dog trotted next to her and sat, begging for a treat and completely oblivious to his master's breaking an entering.

"Look, I've already asked you once and this makes strike two." Wade threatened. Gwen could hear her cock his gun and fire it, causing the man and woman to scream in panic. She tried her best to continue to prepare the meal, but the situation upstairs was concerning her.

"Strike three and Santapool is gonna give you two two shots of lead in your skulls, got it?" Wade said after the commotion settled.

"Ok! Ok! Whatever you want!" the woman pleaded.

"You're crazy, man! Crazy!" the man added.

"Not as crazy as you might think." Wade replied, the wood creaking beneath his feet "Merry fucking Christmas."

And with that he slammed the door shut. Gwen resumed cooking her dinner with a newfound sense of purpose and speed. After all, Wade might need her to pass a polygraph later.

She felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her waist and a pair of scarred lips on her neck.

"You won't have to worry about Pencildick and the Black Hole anymore, my sweet." he murmured into her neck. Gwen giggled and put the goose in the oven. He was no Remy, but in his own unique way Wade had his own gentlemanly code that no other woman would get to share with him.

At around six that evening, Remy arrived with Kyle in tow. Currently, Kyle and Wade sat in front of the fire arguing the finer points of Super Smash Brothers while the Cajun helped Gwen put the finishing touches on her dinner in the kitchen.

"Just like old times, no?" he asked. Gwen shrugged, ladling some gravy into a gravy boat.

"I suppose. Although, I don't remember as much arguing." she chuckled.

"And I don't remember you ever dressing so beautifully for me. I'm jealous." he only partially joked. Gwen stuck her tongue out as she exited the kitchen.

"Eat your heart out, LeBeau!" Wade shouted, briefly interrupting his argument with Kyle. Remy shook his head and, keeping his eyes glued to Gwen's behind, brought the remainder of the food out to the table.

"C'mon, you two! Dinner's ready!" Gwen shouted over the arguing boys. They cheered and pushed each other out of the way for a space at the table.

"I call cutting the birdie!" Deadpool yelled, once he claimed his spot at the table.

"Ya bettah take a raincheck on dat one, ground beef, dis bird is mine to cut." Gambit argued.

"No fair! We already Let you have that stupid Louisiana crap at the table! There's no way you're cutting the bird too!" Deadpool retorted. Gwen removed her apron and tossed it back into the kitchen.

"Relax, boys! Wade is going to cut the goose cuz it is his house, Remy!" Gwen stepped in as the mediator. The dog, Mr. Shugums, barked excitedly at the men's loud voices. Rogue was right, it certainly was a hectic evening.

There was an unexpected knock at the door. Judging by the lack of "Come out with your hands up" or any threats from those two people Wade almost shot, Gwen assumed it would be safe to answer.

"I'll get it!" she called over the still arguing men, "Don't cut anything without me!"

She cheerily walked to the door with Mr. Shugums at her sides, feeling surprisingly normal. She remembered Christmases at her house being just as hectic as a kid. Turns out, she was now playing the role of her mother and it was amazingly satisfying.

"Hey, Gwen." Cable greeted her as she opened the door "Some outfit you got there."

Gwen blinked up at her former mentor. She had invited him for Christmas, but hardly expected him to show up.

"Um, yeah...Wade picked it out." she explained. Wow, this was more awkward than how she used to talk to Cable.

"Is your invitation still valid?" he asked, holding up a medium sized box wrapped in blue paper "I did bring a gift."

Gwen smiled and stepped aside.

"Of course it's still valid. You can set your gift under the tree and I'll have Wade pull up another table." she told him. The technopath gave her a relieved smile as he entered the apartment.

"Heyyyyy, Summers!"

"Is that a Santa hat, Wade?"

"Fuck yeah! C'mon over here, sit on Santypool's lap, and tell him what you want for Christmas!"

"Ugh, Gwen, could you come here and control your boyfriend?"

Gwen laughed, feeling a remarkable sense of joy rush through her body. If four dudes, a dog, and one lady all crowded around a table constituted for a normal Christmas dinner then sign her up for the next thousand Christmases.

Gwen looked on. She realized that most of the people at this table, including Mr. Shugums, would be dead by that time. Everyone except for Wade, that is.

"Hurry up, Gwen! The turkey is getting cold!"

"It's a goose, jackass!"

"Can it, pipsqueak!"

"Boys! Cool it!" she yelled.

The boys didn't leave until around 10:30 that evening. Remy had gotten Gwen a Frank Sinatra cd that she had her eye on. Kyle got her a deluxe set of Prismacolor markers and colored pencils. Cable's gift was the most thoughtful of all, though. He had gone back in time and retrieved some home movies from Gwen's house. In return, she gave him a tear-filled hug and a thousand thank yous.

Upon viewing some of the tapes, a drunken Kyle had made the decision to go see his sisters. Cable and Remy had decided to accompany the boy as to keep him out of trouble.

Now, it was just Gwen and Wade. All alone in Wade's now Christmas themed apartment.

"Wade, c'mere! We gotta exchange gifts!" she barked at him from her place in front of the roaring fire.

"Hold on!" he called from another room "Be there in a minute!"

Gwen frowned and fiddled with her small flat rectangle that she would be presenting to him. He had been rushing around the space like a maniac ever since the guests left. It was suspicious, especially since he freaked out whenever she even stepped one toe out of the living room.

"Hi!" he shouted, sliding on the floor next to her "I'm here and ta-da!" he held out a tiny brown box "Your gift, my lady!"

Gwen giggled and took the box, shaking it to try and guess what was inside. It wasn't anything breakable and was definitely metal. She slowly opened the box and tossed aside the lid.

There, resting atop some crumpled up newspapers, was a small brass key on a long chain. She lifted it up and inspected it.

"What is this? The key to your heart or something?" she joked. Wade, for once, was completely serious as he took her hand in his.

"Gwen, I've been thinking about this for a while, and..." he paused. A loss for words? Very unlike the Merc with a Mouth.

"You make me feel all bubbly inside when I'm with you. And I think about you, like, all the time even when I'm not jacking off." he explained.

"Way too much info there, sweetie." Gwen interjected.

"And with all this shit going on." he continued, not skipping a beat "I just don't think I could handle it if you were kidnapped. I mean, if you think I'm messed up now, I don't think you've ever seen me after a breakup or something."

Gwen's heart raced. Was he asking her what she thought he was asking her?

"So, I guess what I was asking is if...well...if you'd move in with me?"

Yup. He was. Boy, this was a lot to take in. They've only been going out for a couple of months, wasn't that a bit fast? And it would be a major downgrade from her place at the X-Mansion. There would be bills to pay, repairs to be made, and even a dog to take care of. Plus, they would be together all the time and she would have to actually start paying bills again.

All these reasons why she shouldn't do it were pushed aside once she saw the hopeful look on his face that made her own light up with happiness.

"Of course, Wade! Yeah! It'll be great!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around the mercenary. He returned her embrace with equal gusto.

_"Phase one: complete!"_

_**"Now for phase-"**_

"I got you something, too, Wade!" Gwen interrupted his train of thought, "Let me get it!"

Gwen crawled over to the Christmas tree and retrieved her gift.

"Alright, it's not as awesome as a freaking apartment key, but here. I worked hard on it and hope you like it!" she exclaimed holding out the gift. Wade took the gift, a bit suspicious of it's contents. It wasn't a race car or even a toy race car.

He ripped open the packaging, careful not to damage the contents, and let the paper slide out into his gloved hands.

"It's a collage." Gwen explained, as she watched his hands travel over all the pictures individually "I thought, well, since you didn't have any memories of your past that well...maybe...we could make some new ones...together."

_"Not better than a race car though."_

**_"But it is a perfect segway into phase two!"_**

Wade smiled. Despite what his voices said, he really appreciated this gift. It was probably the most heartfelt gift he had ever received. Plus, it included pictures of Gwen in a skimpy bikini while the real Gwen presented it to him as a skimpy Mrs. Claus.

He set his collage down and reached over to cup Gwen's pale cheek in his hand. He brought their lips together in a warm and electrifying kiss that made Gwen feel dizzy once they parted.

"I actually have a part two to your present." he whispered "But you gotta close your eyes."

Gwen nodded and obliged his request. She felt him leave and rush around the room. As he worked, she wondered if he got matching race cars for them since he seemed to be so stuck on them.

She heard candles being lit and something being scattered on the ground.

"Dammit, work!" he cursed, smacking the side of something that sounded wooden. Just when she was about to ask if he needed help, the sound of a needle dropping on some vinyl alerted her that all was well.

"Don't open your eyes!" Wade called, his voice growing farther and farther away. Patsy Cline began to fill the room with the smooth sound of her voice. This song? Why'd he choose Crazy? It wasn't even remotely festive.

"Ok, open! And follow the trail of dead flowers to your present!" Wade called to her. Gwen obliged, blinking her eyes to adjust them to the new dim lighting.

Outside, a winter snowstorm had already begun, but you couldn't tell from the newly transformed apartment. The lights were off and the only way she could see was with the dozens and dozens of candles, night lights, and Christmas lights that covered each room. On the floor, starting from where she sat, was a trail of rose petals.

She followed them out of the living room and down the hall. As she moved closer, she could hear Wade singing the song. He knew the lyrics too? How often had he listened to the song anyways?

She stopped at the bedroom door, placing a hand over her mouth at what she saw.

There, standing in the middle of the bedroom, clad only in black boxers, was the man she had seen emerge from the experimental tub. The same man who saved her from Sabertooth. The same man who saved her from becoming a closeted mute until the end of time. The same man who she loved more than anything else in the world.

"Well, this is it...everything you wanted, right?" he said, holding his scarred and muscular arms out.

"Actually, I couldn't imagine a better looking body." she replied, taking a step forward. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, aren't you the one who's always lecturing Kyle about not brown nosing." Wade joked "Besides, you already have a key to my apartment, so there really is no need for it."

Gwen smirked and sauntered forward, just like she had seen those ladies do in the movies. She even twirled her hair in one finger and licked her lips.

"Yeah, but who's to say I don't want more?"

_"Good thing we signed that prenup."_

_**"We're not even married. That was all in our head."**_

Gwen draped her arms around Wade's neck, scanning his body up and down. She wanted to savor this moment and the moments that were to follow afterwards. From what she read in Cosmo and on the Internet, things were just about to get good.

"Maybe I want more too, you selfish brat." he hissed in her ear, trailing kisses from her jawline to her neck and back.

"Then why don't you take it?" she replied. Oh God, those six words just sent him over the edge.

Instead of responding with some smart comment, Wade crashed his lips on her's, pulling her clothes off of her body with urgency. She wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head in her hands. His hands traveled up her leg, hitching it around his hip, making her groan when she felt something long and hard poke her lower half.

The more they kissed, the more passionate it became. The more their hands wandered, the more difficult it was to stay standing.

Wade spun his dark haired beauty around and pressed her on the bed, biting and sucking on her neck as his hands teased her breasts roughly. He couldn't help, but look up at the ceiling that held up his neighbor's constant lovemaking. All these years he had suffered in somewhat silent jealousy and frustration. It was time to extract some revenge.

The mercenary bit down hard on Gwen's neck, causing her to cry out in pain. It did hurt, but not in the way that caused discomfort. The way he handled her combined with his obvious need for her sent chills down her spine.

She couldn't help, but look down at his disfigured back. Even underneath all that scar tissue, his muscles were beautifully defined in the candle light. The way they moved and contracted under her touch was hypnotic and only made her want him more.

Her legs wrapped around his waist and she pushed her hips up against his. The only thing separating their bodies by now was the thin fabric of their drawers.

Wade smirked against Gwen's soft skin. She was already sweating and short of breath. Her face and chest were flushed just how he liked. She was beautiful in general, but he had never seen her look more beautiful than when he was pleasing her like this.

_"She's so pretty!"_

**_"Indeed! And in a pure sort of way, not like those ladies on the Internet!"_**

_"Or our inflatable girlfriend!"_

**_"We should probably get rid of that."_**

"Guys, seriously?" he whispered as he buried his face into the soft skin of her neck. His hands firmly latched themselves onto her breasts and he was thankful she didn't seem to hear him argue with his voices.

"Oh, fuck, Wade." she groaned, her hands reaching down to the bulge in his boxers. He wouldn't let her touch it, not yet anyways. He took her hands and pinned them above her head.

"It's your first time, but I don't think I'm gonna go easy on you." he warned, his breathing haggard. Seeing her under him and completely at his mercy like this gave Wade a mini-power trip. Domino never let him have complete control like this. And, even better for the scarred mercenary, Raven actually seemed to enjoy it.

She grinned and inhaled sharply as he took one of her breasts in his mouth.

"Who asked for you to go easy on me?" she panted "It's gonna hurt every time we do it, so go ahead."

She really knew what to say to drive him nuts, even though the second half of her statement did make him feel bad. He liked it rough, but he didn't enjoy bringing discomfort on a woman; especially one he cared so deeply about.

He claimed her mouth again, releasing her hands so he could hold her face close to his; silently apologizing for the pain she would endure.

She dug her newly freed hands into the skin on his back, appearing as if she had no qualms about causing him any pain either. It's not like she could help it, she needed something to grab so she wouldn't loose herself. Besides they would all be healed by tomorrow, anyways.

They continued to travel down until they reached the elastic of his boxers, she tugged them off with ease. He followed suit with her panties, tossing them to an unknown spot in the bedroom.

Even though he was right above her, Gwen wanted to take everything in. She had never seen a man naked before, minus in her anatomy and biology books. Everything fascinated her; the sweat on his brow, every bump and defect of his skin, and even the completely lust filled look in his eye. He seemed to take on the air of an animal rather than a man.

His lips left her's and immediately latched themselves onto her clit. He lapped up all of her already pooling juices hungrily and pumped two of his fingers in and out of her, roughly.

"Jesus Christ! Fuck! Ah, Wade!" she yelled, her breathing shaky as she squirmed beneath him. She was beginning to wonder if his nickname was actually ambiguous.

Wade smirked against her, biting down roughly and grabbing her hip hard enough to leave bruises and hold her in place. He wanted to get her off first, just to have that sweet moment of satisfaction of having all of his neighbors know that he was actually able to have sex with a girl.

_"And they better get used to it too!"_

Her fingers dug into his skull, pushing his head further into her, succeeding in turning him on even more, if possible.

"Don't stop, Wade!" she begged "Please!"

Oh, how he loved the hear her beg. The way she pleaded with him to keep going, no matter how hard he bit or how tight his hand grabbed her skin, she always begged for more. And what was even better was that his name was the only one that passed her lips in such a way. He was the only one she wanted; the only one she needed.

He added a third finger, his tongue dancing in circles on her clit. Gwen had to bite on her lower lip to keep from screaming out in pleasure.

It was times like these where it was really hard for Gwen not to scream out how much she loved this man. The moment where every muscle in her body tensed and her entire being shook as she reached her climax was the moment where she just wanted to scream out she loved him.

"Oh shit, Wade!"

It wasn't "I love you" , but it was the next best thing, right? No? Oh, well...

Without loosing momentum, Wade immediately kissed her swiftly on the lips before positioning himself at her entrance. For a brief moment, he paused to take everything in. She was beautiful; irresistible at this point. From this angle, he could see the sweat glistening off her pale skin and the urgency in her eyes.

Was he using protection? No. Was she on any kind of birth control? He had no idea. Was it even possible for them to have children? He had heard of stranger things happening.

None of that mattered to Wade, as he pushed himself into her tight opening and past the barrier that marked her as pure. He was now physically united with someone who actually could understand him on a level nobody else could.

Gwen hissed in pain. It was just a pinch, but it was still so unexpected a mist all this pleasure. He didn't wait for her to get used to his size or even establish a steady pace of her own. He took complete control, entangling his fingers in her long dark hair and pulling her face into his neck. Her labored breathing was hot against his skin and was filled with pleas not to stop.

"Oh fuck." Wade groaned as he continued to move in and out of her furiously. He wrapped his arms under her form and pulled her close to him. She was the tightest he had ever been with. Not only that, but the moment he felt himself enter her, he felt a strange sense of being whole; like it didn't matter he was a freak of nature. He may not have had a place in this world, but he had a place with her.

He lifted himself up, supporting himself with his arms so he could get a better view of her as he pounded into her. With each thrust, his bed slammed against the already deteriorating wall. Her breast bounced irresitably and he couldn't bring himself to part with staring at those bouncing pale moons for long.

Her hands never left his body for a moment. His eyes never left her. The way she moaned, screamed, and begged for him was unlike anything he had ever heard. It sounded like she only needed him, as if he was truly bringing her happiness and pleasure; despite how rough he was being. He couldn't believe it. He needed to see it in her eyes

"Look at me." he commanded, leaning his head down to stoke a nipple greedily, pulling out of her. He didn't want to, but he needed to gain leverage.

"What?" Gwen breathed, her head spinning and her knees shaking from his relentless pounding. He shook his head and leaned down to bite her neck hard enough to draw some blood.

"Look at me!" he ordered, licking her blood off his lips. Gwen sat up, slightly, cradling the base of his head in one hand, while using the other to support her weight. Wade pressed his sweaty forehead against her's.

Her eyes, so dark and black, pulled him into the black abyss that was her. To others, they may have appeared to be dull and lifeless simply because they weren't a bright color. But to Wade, they were full of fire and life. And at this moment, they burned for him and him alone; which was all he needed.

He pushed himself back into her and she hissed in pain again, since her barrier had already started to heal in that brief moment. It was strange, what he just did. His eyes were full of such a desperate need for her, but they were also searching for something. What was he looking for?

His thrusts became more desperate and began to loose their rhythm, not that Gwen minded. She couldn't get over the strange look in his eyes. They were so intense and focused, that they didn't even seem to resemble the yellow cancerous eyes of the mentally unstable man she had initially started making love to. In fact, if her foggy memory served her correctly, they almost started to look like the Wade Wilson from the DVDs.

"Say my name." he commanded. She hissed in pain as his fingers dug into her hips, moving them back and forth to match his thrusts. How could he expect her to say anything when he was thrusting into her so roughly? The only thing she could manage at this point were the moans and groans that flowed out of her lips like a waterfall.

"I said." he hissed, pausing for a moment to adjust himself.

"Say. My. Name." he ordered, thrusting with each word he said. Gwen cried out and bit Wade's neck, clinging to him desperately trying to match his passion.

"Wade!" she breathed into his ear.

"Louder!" he pulled her head back so her forehead was against his, forcing her to maintain eye contact.

"Wade!" she shouted, tossing her hair back. It wasn't loud enough. The good ol' folks down at the X-Mansion still didn't know he was getting laid. He picked her up and moved her to the edge of the bed and stood up, thrusting desperately into her.

"Louder!" he screamed at her. Everyone had to know who she was with. Nobody could take her from him. The only way she would leave him would be if she chose to herself.

"Oh Jesus, Wade!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her hands running through her hair and over her body, desperate for something to grab. He could feel her muscles tense around him and her body shook, once again as she came gloriously.

Wade fell over her and continued to thrust into her a few more times before coming right after her.

He hung his head over her's, some sweat dripping from his sweaty brow onto her own. The record had long since stopped playing and the apartment was filled with silence; minus the couple's heavy breathing and the howling wind outside.

"Fuck, babe..."Wade groaned, picking Gwen up and maneuvering her to lay on his small twin sized bed comfortably in his arms.

"Yeah...I know..." she sighed "Sorry, I didn't know what to do."

He loosened his grip on her for a moment so she could turn and curl up against his chest. Already, he could see the marks he left on her fade. It was strange, he had never seen her healing factor in action before.

"It's alright, babe. Don't worry...that was just...wow." he replied, stroking the pale skin of her arm "We'll have plenty of time to play student/teacher later. For now, I'm just glad u didn't cough up any blood in my mouth."

Gwen coughed, as if on cue, into her fist. He could see the blood leave her mouth and stain her pale skin. At least he didn't bleed randomly, like she did.

_"Plus, she's a girl so she at least bleeds once a month!"_

_**"T.M.I...man...T.M.I."**_

"Sorry." she murmured, her eyes already starting to close. He pinched her ass roughly, making her jolt and slap him across the face.

"What the hell, Wade?!" she shouted. He giggled. She was so adorable when she got mad.

"Who said I was done with you, babe?"

Gwen blinked tiredly. Seriously? She had read that the average amount of times for a man to satisfy his need for sex after a particularly vigorous session was approximately one.

He kissed her face and neck, passionately. She was exhausted, but that feeling she felt when he was inside her was almost too good to resist.

"C'mon, babe." he enticed her "I promise this time will be better."

Somehow she found that hard to believe, but she complied to him by kissing him firmly on his lips.

He rolled her back over onto her back. If this second time felt as good as the first, Gwen had no issues repeating it over and over again until neither of them could move.

About an hour and a half later, Gwen laid panting in Wade's scared arms. She could feel her hair sticking to the wetness of her skin, which still showed signs of Wade's being there. Her heart was pounding so fast and hard that she felt as if it was in her throat.

The sheets were ripped and torn beyond repair. The off white fabric was even stained with blood, some from each partner.

"That...was...awesome..."she panted, her ear glued to Wade's sweaty chest. His heart was beating a million miles a minute.

_"Damn right it was!"_

_**"Good show, man!"**_

Wade smirked happily, wrapping his arms around his new roommate, enjoying the compliments from his woman and the voices in his head.

"You...sure learn fast." he joked, tweaking her nose "Nerd."

Gwen giggled and yawned, feeling completely relaxed and elated. Sleep had already come to claim her. It's not like Wade didn't expect it. In fact, after two sessions of sex as intense as the ones they just experienced, he would've been surprised if she wasn't completely exhausted.

He watched her sleep, stroking her smooth skin lovingly.

_"She's gonna stay, right? She won't leave us like everyone else, right?"_

**_"Of course not...you saw the look in her eyes. She'll stay."_**

"I sure as hell hope so, you guys." Wade murmured, as to not wake the woman who slumbered in his arms. It was unsettling to not know if she would stick with him, but he knew as long as she continued to exist he would protect and defend her.

"You'll be safe with me babe. As long as you're living and breathing, I'll make sure of that." he whispered into her ear. Gwen smiled and held him tighter. She probably didn't hear him, though. His presence was enough to make her smile, even in her unconscious.

And, for the first time since she had seen her sister shoot an innocent man on national television, Gwen slept soundly throughout the night.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Run, Run, Rudolph by Chuck Berry_

_Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee_

_Crazy by Patsy Clein _

_Misery Loves It's Company by RJA_

_Love and War by Tamar Braxton _


	30. Chapter 30

_I thought this was pretty cute! Oh well. Rate, review, and junk._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-men, or anything else that is obviously not mine. I do own Raven and Jerry (You'll find out who he is later) Enjoy!_

* * *

Gwen woke up the next morning to the wind howling outside. She could see the storm had not let up since last night.

Her face flushed with color at the thought of last night. Her first time-erm-times with Wade Wilson. She looked over to see his arms still wrapped firmly around her waist.

She smiled fondly at the sleeping man and stroked his scarred skin. He looked so peaceful, so happy; like a horribly scarred sleeping baby with swords.

Slowly and carefully, she slid out of his arms and onto the warm wood floor. She couldn't find her clothes, not that she wanted to get changed back into her Mrs. Clause outfit.

Gwen stealthily crept over to Wade's closet and pulled open the door gently, grabbing the first article of clothing she saw: a large black t-shirt with his logo on it. It didn't smell too bad; at least not as bad as the other clothes that almost spilled out of the closet.

Her nose wrinkled in disgust as she pulled the dark fabric over her head. If she was going to live here that was one thing that'll have to change.

Speaking of things that had to change, the wall above Wade's small bed looked like it was about to swallow her lover into its depths. Even though Wade would claim it was a result born purely from his "sexual prowess", Gwen knew the place was falling apart and now that she was living there, she could fix it.

"First, with the laundry." she whispered, tugging some of the stinking clothes out of the closet "Then, with everything else."

Money was no issue. With her combined existing funds and the small fortune she acquired from her heist with Gambit, Gwen had plenty to sink into the dilapidated hovel. With a lot of hard work and tons of cash, she was certain she could transform this place into the home he deserved.

Wade awoke a bit later to find his bed warm, but empty. He sleepily reached for the woman he had just slept with. He reached further and further until he fell out of the bed and onto the hard floor.

_"Good morning, starshine!"_

"Agh, fuck you." he groaned, rubbing his sore head. As he sat up, the room came into focus. From what he could tell, either they were in Purgatory or the snow had covered up all of his windows. There was no sign of Gwen, though. The only evidence she was still there came from her loud singing from elsewhere in the apartment.

The Merc with a Mouth stood up and yawned, cringing at the smell of his own morning breath.

_**"Can't give our woman a good morning kiss with graveyard breath! To the bathroom!"**_

A few minutes later, Wade Wilson stood against the doorway to his kitchen and watched Gwen as she fluttered around the space like a bee to flowers.

"Taaaake my hand!" she sang, as she poured some pancake batter into the hot skillet "Taaaake my whole life too!"

Wade smirked and crossed his arms across his chest. The only clean thing in that kitchen was her, even though she was wearing one of his filthy t-shirts. Man, he never understood what it was, but women in just big t-shirts was hot. Especially if it was his t-shirt.

_"If only she put that shirt in the wash too!"_

"And risk burning that pretty skin of hers? No way!" Wade argued. Gwen jumped, almost dropping the pancake she was cooking to the floor.

"Ah! Wade! How long have you been standing there?!" she shouted, an embarrassed blush on her cheeks. He shrugged and approached her.

"Not very long." he replied, wrapping his arms around her from behind, kissing her cheek fondly "Just long enough to get turned on again."

The evidence of his statement pressed against her rear and the pale skinned woman giggled, pushing his arms off of her.

"Wade, I've gotta finish the pancakes or else they're gonna burn!" she laughed, turning and looking at him. He crossed his arms and pouted.

"But baaaaaaaabe." he whined, making his penis wiggle "I've got an itch only you can scratch!"

Gwen's cheeks burned and she turned her attention to the pancakes.

"That doesn't look like an itch, besides-" her stomach growled loudly "I'm starving."

Wade uncrossed his arms and ceased his penis wiggling, relenting to her. He decided to stand and pat Mr. Shugums on the head. Usually when given a choice between pancakes and sex, the choice was obvious. However, he had to admit he was feeling a bit starved.

"But I can't help falling in love with you." Gwen sang, pouring the last of the pancake batter into the hot skillet. Wade rolled over on the linoleum onto his back and stared up at her.

"You sure love the classics, dontcha, babe?" he questioned. She nodded, flipping the pancake and pressing down on the cooked side.

"Yeah. My mom used to play them all the time." she replied "And you wanna know something cool?"

Wade perked up and scooted on the floor so he was right next to her legs. Mr. Shugums, like the good dog he was, followed suit, taking it as a perfect opportunity to beg for food.

"Oh wise and powerful Gwendolyn, tell me your secrets!" he said in mock praise, raising his hands to her as if she was some goddess on earth. She rolled her eyes and placed the last pancake on the stack.

"That song, Crazy-" she explained, "It was my mother and father's song."

She exited the kitchen, taking the plate of steaming pancakes with her. Wade stood and followed after her. So after all this time, that's what the deal was with that song? It was cute, at least from Gwen's perspective. He was certain her younger sister held a more devious reason for her use of the song.

_"That's cuz that bitch is cray cray!"_

_**"Talk about mucho loco."**_

Instead of arguing with his voices or informing Gwen of how crazy he and his voices found her sister, Wade sat at the table, enjoying the feeling of the warm fire that warmed his bare behind.

"Aw, I was thinking it was our song all along!" he pouted, grabbing a hot pancake and taking a bite. She smirked and sat down next to him.

"Really? You have? That means a lot to me, Wade. Even if you didn't know why I was so obsessed with the song to begin with, that really is sweet. And even though I always thought our song was 'Misery Loves It's Company'."

"Babe, I love that song, but it's so...well...not completely us. Plus, the writer seems to only play that song during a really intense moment." he grinned "Besides, this one has more meaning, anyways."

"Well, I thought getting stabbed and burned was a pretty intense moment." Gwen grumbled, stabbing one of her pancakes with a fork.

_**"That's not the kind of intense moment we were talking about."**_

_"What kind of intense moment are we talking about then?"_

_**"You know, the kind where a dude and a chick are feverishly sucking face and shit of that nature?"**_

_"Oh__yeahhhhhh."_

Her phone suddenly began to ring and vibrate loudly from the kitchen. Thanks to her new 'do not disturb' feature on her phone, Gwen knew exactly who was trying to reach her on the other line.

Like a cat chasing after a laser pointer, the black haired girl sprung up from the table and sprinted into the kitchen. Her strange and sudden urgency made Wade raise an eyebrow and he hesitantly made the decision to follow her into the kitchen.

"It took ya long enough, sewer rat." she hissed as she answered the phone.

"Maybe, but I haven't gotten a call from you in quite some time, Ms. Merc." the nasally voice said from the other line.

Fucking Jerry. That rat faced son of a bitch was probably holed up in some crack den with a bunch of cheap skanks, telling them he was the Jerry from Ben and Jerry's and asking if they wanted a taste of his chunky monkey.

"You're lucky you've got this phone between us or else you'd be missing a few appendages." she threatened. As a mercenary, it was important to talk a big and threatening game. The bigger and tougher you were, the more contracts you would get and the more likely rats like Jerry would be to complying to your demands. However, Jerry was the Rolls Royce of rats and he knew it. Taking advantage of him was not an easy task.

"As if you would be able to manage that." he retorted, snorting something up his nose "Word on the street is you shacked up with some guy and got soft."

Her temper flared within her. She had spent almost all of her life building up the reputation as the biggest and baddest merc to hit the 50 states. Not only that, but his knowledge of her moving in with Wade before she even told her best friend infuriated her. Damn him and his somehow infinite knowledge.

"I have not gone soft." she spat through her teeth, clenching an unclenching her fists. Jerry laughed on the other line. That must've been some pretty good crack he was snorting to give him the balls to laugh at her, even though her comeback was pretty lame.

"Look just cut the crap and tell me if you can get your hands on a couple of files for me." she demanded.

"Girl, you know I can get you any files you want...for a price."

"Money's no issue." she retorted, rolling her eyes. It has never been an issue before. Now he was just being a smartass and only friends were allowed to be smart asses towards her.

"Hm, well with that tone I don't know if I'll just accept the usual green paper." he taunted her. Uh oh, last time he said that Gwen had to fill out three contracts, two of which were high profile, for him without payment in exchange for the inner workings of the Detroit Irish mafia.

She remained silent, her lips pressed into a thin white line. On one hand, being a mercenary was just a skin she wished to shed. On the other, it had been the only steady job she had ever held and she worked her ass off to become the best of the best.

"For you," the rat faced man said "I'll charge my standard rates in addition to the elimination of two gentlemen who have been giving me trouble lately."

Two guys. That wasn't too bad. At least, not yet.

"The sooner you find and kill these men," he continued "The sooner you will receive whatever precious files you wish to have."

She needed those files as soon as humanly possible if she wanted to find out what exactly her sister was plotting.

"Babe, who is that? Lemme-"

Gwen shushed her curious boyfriend harshly and held her index finger up for good measure, pacing back and forth on the linoleum tiles anxiously.

Wade was a bit taken aback. Gwen had never told him to be quiet before. He knew sometimes she wanted to, but she never did.

_"Should we not be here? I feel like we should not be here."_

"Send me the usual." she responded after much thought. There would be no getting around this, she knew that. It was hard to believe that finding any information about her own medical history would be so difficult, but then again she was involved in a top secret government program. Stryker and his goons would've been sure to erase anything about her as well as the other participants from society. It was by the grace of Swedish banking accounts that Gwen maintained as much of her former life and wealth that she still had.

"Good to have ya back, Pierce." his nasally and prideful voice said before the line disconnected. Gwen gritted her teeth and sighed. Filling this contract out for Jerry would essentially announce to the entire community that the Scary Mercenary, otherwise known as Death's Dancer, would be back on the market. That would mean more calls for contracts. Unless she changed her number. But what if she needed Jerry again?

Amidst all of her thinking, Gwen caught sight of Wade sitting on the floor in front of the washing machine. Judging by his slumped shoulders, he was pouting and had just hit Gwen instantly with a guilt trip.

"Hey, babe, you wanna finish up our pancakes?" she asked. Wade sighed heavily and continued to stare at the spinning laundry.

If it was a normal guy, telling him to be quiet while on the phone wouldn't have turned into such a big production. However, this was Wade Wilson, the mentally unstable and occasionally insecure Merc with a Mouth and a girlfriend who had never said a harsh word towards him until now.

Gwen sighed and sat next to him, surprised that he was still naked. Then again, all of his clothes were in the washing machine.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Wade." she apologized "It's just that was avery unpleasant call."

"Then why'd you take it?" he asked, his voice very child like. Gwen ran her fingers through her dark hair. For this former mercenary, dealing with Wade was, for the most part, relatively easy. However, other times it was very much like dealing with a child.

"Because it was important, Wade." she explained.

"More important than me?"

Gwen smirked and punched him in the arm playfully.

"Are you kidding me? Nothing's more important to me than you!" she exclaimed. Wade's scarred face lit up with glee.

"You mean it?!" he asked. She nodded.

"Of course I do!" she winked seductively "In fact, why don't you come back to the bedroom and I'll prove it to you."

In one swift movement, Wade stood up, lifting Gwen up with him, and placed her on top of the washing machine. He pushed himself between her legs and pulled her head close to his by the scruff of her neck, his hot breath causing chills to run down Gwen's spine.

"Why go all the way over there when you can prove it to me now." he whispered into her ear. Gwen's arms snaked around Wade's neck and she pushed herself closer to him. The combination of the vibrating washer she sat on and the suddenness of Wade's actions sent her desires into a tailspin. She could feel his hardening member gently poke her warm opening. She wore nothing but his t-shirt to keep him from uniting their bodies.

His hands slid up her thighs, pushing up the extra fabric of the shirt as they went' to cup her ass.

_"I love her ass! It's so soft, but so firm at the same time!"_

"Wade, quit teasing me." she demanded. Wade smirked and kissed her neck up and down.

"Oh, honey, I haven't even begun to tease you yet." he murmured, before kissing her lips to stifle the yelp that escaped them as he pushed himself into her. If there was one thing he disliked about sex with Raven, it was that yelp of genuinely pain. Thanks to her healing factor, it would be like this each time.

"Wade, why'd you stop?" she breathed. Wade pulled back and pressed his forehead against her's. He watched as his scared hands moved up and down the perfectly pale, silky smoothness of Raven's skin. Despite the similarities in their past, these two people were so remarkably different. He should be alone or with a bottle of lotion, some tissues, and a dirty magazine instead of sheathed within the body of this beautiful girl. She should be with a strikingly handsome, unmarked, mentally and physically healthy gentleman with means to provide for her instead of in the arms of a disfigured psychopath.

But, by some fluke of destiny, here they were; having sex on top of a running washing machine in Wade's dilapidated apartment.

"No reason, babe." he replied, stroking a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear "Just wondering when the odds started being in my favor."

Gwen smiled sweetly and planted a soft kiss on Wade's lips, her fingers trailing over every bump and deformity she could find.

"Since you first tackled me back in the X-Mansion." she replied, wrapping her legs around him and pulling him in closer "Now, quit questioning it that I'm here and you're not gonna get rid of me."

_"Yay! Told you she wouldn't leave!"_

**_"Uh, no you didn't and besides, it's just words. It's not like they really mean anything."_**

Wade smiled at her, choosing to ignore the voices completely and believe her.

"Oh, I know you won't. I'll make sure of that." he promised, reaching under the shirt she wore to hold her breasts in each hand.

Two hours later, a freshly showered Gwen reentered Wade's apartment. She had used their upstairs neighbor's shower since Wade's was "under construction". They didn't seem to mind, though; probably because they knew she was the girlfriend of the man who almost put two bullets in their skulls.

Wade was sitting on his moth-eaten armchair in a fresh pair of boxers with a fat smile on his face that only came from a man that just had amazing sex.

_"I don't ever remember our boxers ever feeling this soft and not itchy!"_

**_"Maybe that's cuz Gwen actually used fabric softener. We do buy that stuff for a reason...and not just cuz the talking bear tells us to."_**

She smiled fondly at the sight as he hummed the theme to the Muppets as the colorful felt puppets danced on the screen of the TV. The cable was knocked out sometime during their lovemaking, not that either of them minded. To them, it was just a free pass to watch all five seasons of the Muppets.

However, before she joined Wade, she noticed a stack of envelopes on the kitchen counter that she didn't register being there the night before.

Gwen didn't consider herself to be that nosy of a person when it came to personal relationships, outside of the basics of course. It was the big red stamps on the envelopes that made her quietly inspect them.

She found they were all either from the bank, utilities, or the government. They were mostly warnings about missed payments; which she assumed he narrowly paid off. It looked like she would be investing more money into this than she thought.

"Hey, nosy Nelly. Whatcha doin?" Wade's voice cooed into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

Gwen smiled and laid a hand on Wade's cheek, pulling him down into a sweet kiss.

"Just seeing how much all your penalty fees are gonna cost me."

"Penalty fees? But I totally paid all my bills! True, I paid them late, but-"

"Wade, you do realize they charge you extra if you're late on payments." she reminded him. He sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't wanna be a real boy anymore. Change me back into a puppet." he pouted. Gwen giggled and patted her lover's cheek.

"No worries, honey. That's why I'm here: to take care of all those big bad adult things so you can play in Neverland all day!" she cooed, twisting in his arms to pinch his cheek.

_"Her body is a Neverland! As in, we should never leave it!"_

**_"Ugh...that has got to be one of our worse ones yet."_**

"You're just doing that so you don't have to explain the phone thing." he retorted.

Damn, eye on the prize as always. Fuck, it was gonna be difficult to dodge this one. But why would a mercenary hate the fact that his girlfriend was also a mercenary? Oh yeah, because she stole several high profile contracts from right under his nose.

But being in a relationship was all about honesty. That's what everyone said, anyways. So far, Gwen hadn't lied to anyone she currently held some sort of relationship with...only avoided the issue or just didn't bring it up. She didn't want to start now.

"Um, well, you know how I like to do all that sciencey stuff?" she explained "Well, this guy I know, Jerry, he, um, gets me top secret data I need for my research. He's kinda pricy though and sometimes requires favors too."

It wasn't everything, but it was the truth.

"Sexual favors?" Wade asked. Gwen smacked the back of his head playfully.

"Don't be silly, Wilson. You know you're the only one who gets those."

He giggled and planted a sloppy kiss on her nose. When he pulled back, he stroked her dark hair lovingly.

"Alright, so when are we meeting with this Jerry guy?" he asked.

We? Gwen never said anything about the two of them meeting Jerry. In fact, she didn't say anything about meeting Jerry at all. He must've put two and two together. Damn him and his quick wit and ability to do simple math.

"Once he gives me the deets." Gwen replied "I mean, we can't meet him anywhere if we don't know where we are gonna meet him and junk. And that won't be for a while cuz well...you know...top secret and all."

"Ohhhhh! My baby's such a rebel. Now, hurry up, we're missing PIIIIIIGS IN SPAAAAACE!" he exclaimed. Gwen laughed as her crazy mercenary pulled her back into his living room. She felt a bit guilty as they squeezed onto his moth-eaten arm chair. It would've been the perfect time to come clean about her former profession that she just unwillingly came out of retirement from.

This whole call from Jerry followed by a mini inquisition by Wade made Gwen realize something. Her days of hiding her secrets were numbered. Sooner or later, the people she cared about would find out and it would be up to fate to decide if they would continue to love her or leave her.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Can't Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley _

_Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby) by Jack's Mannequin_

_Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths_

_The Muppet Show Theme by The Muppets_

_Crazy by Patsy Clein_

_Misery Loves It's Company by RJA_


	31. Chapter 31

_Two chapters in one day? You're welcome. Maybe you can thank me by rating, reviewing, and following. Or just reading...whatevs_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-men, or anything that's not mine. I do own Gwen and Jerry. Enjoy!_

* * *

It was New Year's Eve when Gwen got the text from Jerry. Instead of enjoying the nice dinner that Wade had set up for them on the roof of their building, they were now cruising on Wade's scooter through the city streets to one of the sleaziest and hypest clubs New York had to offer.

It was nice of Wade to put that all together for them, since the scent of fresh drywall and drying paint was almost unbearable in their apartment.

A New Year meant a fresh start and all Gwen wanted was to start her life over so that she never became a mercenary. Mercenary work was great and paid well, but once you engaged in a relationship it got extremely dangerous. Also, she had seen the work superheroes such as the Avengers, the X-Men, and even Spiderman did for the community. Sometimes they did get to kill the scumbags, but they didn't get paid much...actually, minus the Avengers, they really didn't get paid at all. Unless you called public approval payment.

The whole reason she wanted to give up mercenary work was because it wasn't socially acceptable work. People called her 'murderer', 'freak', 'home wrecker', 'cash whore' instead of 'hero' or 'savior'. She received no city keys or front page headlines. However, she received enough money to almost rival Tony Stark and the satisfaction that she had sent scumbags straight to the best prison the universe had to offer: hell.

"Hey, babe, we're here." Deadpool said as they parked the scooter. The music pulsed through the city street and Raven had to put on her sunglasses to shield her eyes from the blinding neon lights; even though she thought wearing sunglasses at night was douchey.

"You look sexy as hell. I don't think I feel comfortable letting you into a place filled with so many uncontrollable people of questionable morals." he eyed her up and down. Raven pulled her signature black lipstick out of her small handbag and applied it to her lips.

She wore a tight black and red dress that she had to hop and wiggle around the room for a good ten minutes to get on. The color scheme was Wade's idea. He had said that they had to look like a "power couple...like Bragelina except with more sex appeal."

She definitely brought the sex appeal; this dress left nothing to the imagination. However, she was more interested in Wade's outfit.

"And how do you think I feel, D-Pooly?" she asked, eyeing him up and down. It was basically his regular costume, but with a popped collar, a sweatband that said 'D-Pooly', and lots of golden accessories. Apparently, he had used this outfit to get into clubs with his weapons. Let's just hoped it worked because all Gwen had on her was the butterfly knife tucked in her purse and a smaller knife tucked into her bra and she had no idea what tricks could be up Jerry's grease stained sleeves.

"Now, c'mon. Let's get in there while the bouncer is still checking out my rack." she instructed, pulling Wade by his arm towards the club.

Still? He hadn't stopped since they pulled up, not that Raven noticed. She had been practically all business since they left the apartment. But Wade was a guy, and guys noticed these things. Besides, the bouncer would have to be completely stupid not to look at the black haired woman. Even with her newfound sexual experience, she still managed to carry herself with the same demure, yet provocative airs of a promiscuous virgin. It also helped that she was just genuinely hot. Not an inch of plastic could be found on his girl, minus her bracelet of course.

_"This isn't a totally lame way to spend New Year's. Even if Gwen's gotta do some work."_

**_"Yeah, but it shouldn't take that long and then we can dance and drink the night away."_**

The bouncer let the pair in without even checking the list or even taking any of Deadpool's weapons. That was a first for the merc, who usually had to wait hours in the back of the line to get in.

_"Tits are AWESOME!"_

As soon as the doors opened, the deafening music and blinding strobe lights hit them like a brick wall. Dancing crowds of sweaty and probably high or intoxicated people filled the place from wall to wall. Scantily clad women danced in cages that dangled from the ceiling while lowly servers carrying drinks snaked their way from one end of the club to the other.

"Maaaaan, this is my kind of place!" Wade shouted, snatching two drinks from a passing server. He handed one to Raven, who downed the shot instantly. It was a loud, chaotic place filled with people of questionable morals, alcohol, and food: yup. This might as well have been Wade's natural habitat.

"Yeah, it is. Now let's focus on finding Jerry!" she shouted back as the warm liquid flowed down her throat. Her hand flew out to grab his in an iron tight grip. She couldn't risk Wade running off and getting them thrown out before she could get what they came for.

"Is it that guy up there?" he asked, pointing over to the neon bar. Raven followed the direction of her boyfriend's gloved hand to a man with a bald top and long shining brown hair at the bottom. Instead of the ratty, stained shirt she was expecting, her informant wore a magenta silk shirt tucked into khaki pants.

"Ew. I would say he cleans up nicely, but that would mean he would've actually cleaned instead of just slapped on whatever was on the cover of Douchebag Weekly." she said to herself before tugging him towards the bar.

"Hey, girls, girls!" Jerry cried out as the pair reached the bar "This is the chick I was telling you about!"

He peeked over the top of his pink sunglasses at the man who's hand Gwen held tightly.

"Ah, well isn't this a wild turn of events!" he exclaimed "The Scary Mercenary paired up with The Merc with a Mouth! How romantic!"

Jerry's skanks mindlessly cooed along with him, not having the faintest idea the reason why. They were probably so high on coke they probably didn't even realize where they were.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Deadpool interjected. Gwen waved to the bartender.

"Deadpool! My dear, sweet, simpleton, you are currently holding hands with the deadliest, most notorious mercenary these fifty states has to offer." Jerry informed him.

"Babe, what is this joker talkin about?" Deadpool asked into Gwen's ear. Gwen frowned and wrapped her arms over his shoulders. Jerry was a dick, plain and simple. And if he was going to be responsible for her losing the man she loved he would die tonight; no questions asked.

"I am the Scary Mercenary." she told him "I also go by Death's Dancer. I'm so sorry about taking those contracts, Wade. I really needed the money for my chemo and shit."

Wade wrapped his arms around Gwen's waist. He had hated Death's Dancer for a very long time, but this was Deadpool we were talking about. A hot, female, kickass mercenary was all he needed to get his engine started; even if she was a contract stealing bitch.

_**"At least it was for a good cause."**_

_"Plus, how many times have we fantasized about doing the nasty with her? This is like a dream come true!"_

"Relax, babe. It's cool." he replied "I'm just glad you told me."

Relief washed over Gwen like a waterfall. She knew Jerry's purpose for revealing her secret to Wade was to divide and conquer. If she rejected his contract or demanded money, he could ask Wade; who would do it for dirt cheap.

"So, I'm guessing this is the part where you tell us who we need to kill." he asked. The bartender slid two shots of Gwen's favorite drink, the alien brain hemorrhage, onto the table. Jerry reached out for one of the glasses, but was stopped with a butter knife through his sleeve.

"Hands off, dickhead. You're interrupting our first New Year's together, so I suggest you make this quick." Gwen warned. Jerry nodded and patted his skanks on the ass, signaling for them to go mingle.

"Alright, I can respect that." he pulled the knife out of the sleeve of his shirt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.

"Here. Put these on. They'll give you everything you need to know." he explained. Gwen nodded and downed her colorful shot with no problem. She felt a slight buzz, but it faded as soon as she put the sunglasses on her face.

"Ohhhh, high tech! What are you a member of S.H.E.I.L.D. or some shit?" Deadpool asked, putting on his glasses.

"Not even close, sweet cheeks." Gwen replied, as her eyes scanned through the information on the computerized sunglasses. She didn't even understand why Wade was looking at these things. They were her contracts, but then again she did owe him a couple of contracts.

The first contract was a man by the name of Gideon Baxter. He was a man who Gwen knew well from the multiple stories about him covered by the news. He was the current head of the largest drugs and weapons cartel in the city. He'd never been in jail before because he had the best defense lawyers money could buy and because he had plenty of goons willing to take the fall for him. This was a man Gwen didn't mind killing.

The next was another name who was simply called Sheik. According to the information on the technoglasses, Sheik was once one of the most skilled trackers in all of Iraq. His exact origins were unknown, not that they were of much importance. He had immigrated to the United States in 2009 and had immediately established himself as one of the best drug/arms runners around. He had been contracted by many notorious criminals, but one name; the name of his current contractor, really stuck out to the black haired mercenary.

Gideon Baxter.

Gwen pulled off her glasses and tucked them into her purse. She would need to download the information onto her laptop in order to get a more in depth look at the two men.

"A mob boss and his top runner?" she asked her informant "Since when do you do you have any dealings with crime rings?"

Jerry, who had just received a large glass of beer, rolled his eyes.

"Since they didn't invite me to their birthday party." he took a huge swig of his drink "Does it really fuckin' matter? You kill them and whoever gets in your way and you'll get your precious files and a bit of extra cash for your troubles."

Wade knew better than to interject into another merc's deal, unless it seemed as if that other mercenary wasn't going to take it. He chose instead to order two more of those crazy looking shots Gwen had just introduced him to.

"Alright. You got a deal, Jerry." Gwen replied, sticking out her hand. She didn't want to touch the repulsive man, but it was something her father had instilled in her as a child that had made her do it: "A deal wasn't a deal, until both parties shook hands" he had said.

The brightly dressed man stuck his hand out at shook her's, a disgusting yellow smile on his face.

"Glad to have you back, D.D." he told her "Happy New Year."

She pulled her hand back, rubbing it on the skirt of her dress as if she had just stuck it in Wade's bathtub.

"Yeah. Happy Fucking New Year." she muttered, glaring after him as he went to join his skanks over in the VIP section.

She had long forgotten the rush that came with a freshly acquired contract. The feeling of control, as if she was now the hunter instead of the hunted, was intoxicating. It was addicting too. It was the best kind of power trip.

But she hated him for making her feel it again.

"Well, I'm glad that's done." Wade's arm snaked around her waist, "Now, how's about you and I get some playtime in."

She smiled and allowed him to pull her out onto the dance floor. For the first time since her escape, Gwen felt like her old self. She was confident, strong, and unchallenged. She was untouchable.

Dana Anne Pierce walked down the halls of her new and most prized lair. Her combat boots echoed through the concrete walls as her lackeys worked tirelessly on their repairs.

When the Brotherhood had first found it, it was no more than a mass of rubble with only a few operational facilities. However, after many repairs, it would be up and running by the end of the night.

Right now, she was heading into the loading bay to inspect an arsenal of weapons she ordered from a trusted dealer back in New York. He had his best runner bring it in this morning. They were humans and she usually didn't do business with humans, but they would be dead soon anyways.

"Sheik, I trust everything went well with my shipment." she greeted the runner upon entering the loading bay. The place was filled from wall to wall with all the weapons this base had to offer. Her shipment was full of the missing pieces of the puzzle that she needed to weaponize the base back to it's full potential.

"Ah, yes, mistress. No problems, no problems at all." the man she knew to be Sheik replied. His accent combined with his exotic and defined looks made him a very desirable man to the average girl. The scars on his face and arms held secrets to intrigue and his eyes told their viewers to keep their questions to themselves.

Dana had no interest in his secrets, his eyes, or his looks. All she wanted to know was if her shipment was safe and completed.

"Decay, did you inspect the order?" she asked her right hand man, running a long on of the crates.

"Yes, ma'am. It's all there." the dead looking Brit replied. Dana nodded in approval.

"Very well." she nodded to some of her other lessers "Go ahead and give him his money."

One by one, silver suitcases full of stolen money were brought before the Sheik and his team. Dana watched with cold, empty eyes as the money left her possession; feeling nothing. She never felt a thing. When she stabbed her sister, when she killed that guy on tv, or even when she walked past the sniveling prisoners she had in the jail cells; she still felt nothing. It was all part of the plan. The plan that would finally put mutants at the top of the world.

"The countdown is starting soon, mistress." Decay whispered to his superior. Dana closed her eyes and exited the room without another word. She didn't care if Sheik tried anything shady. Her army would kill them all before they could even make a move.

"5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The club erupted in cheers and screams. Some people off in the distance popped a couple of bottles of champaign as streamers, confetti, and balloons fell down from the ceiling.

Amidst all the chaos and commotion, Wade pulled Gwen close to him. She lifted up his mask just enough for him to lean down and plant a firm kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back with equal gusto.

When they parted, Wade rested his forehead against hers. He couldn't remember ever sharing a New Year's kiss with anyone before and sharing one with a girl of Raven's caliber in the hottest clubs of New York was so far odd his radar he wouldn't have been able to think of it himself.

"So, what's your New Year's resolution?" she asked him.

_"To get a race car!"_

_**"To eat a taco on every continent in the world!"**_

"Those sound really great, but I've got one better." Wade stroked Gwen's pale cheek with his thumb. Even with her stupid New Year's cone hat on her head, she still looked fine as hell. He'd definitely had to tap that when they got home. Maybe if he was lucky she'd keep the hat on. Just the hat.

"I promise that this year I'll make sure to give you all the lovin' in and out of the bedroom you deserve and then some." he promised. Gwen giggled.

"Why?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Cuz I'm your dingleberry! Or wait, I'm the cheese to your Wisconsin! I'm the Kool to your Aid! I'm the-"

"I get it! I get it!" the black haired beauty laughed. The DJ put a slow jam on the record and the lights dimmed. The pair began to sway together as a giant disco ball was lowered from the ceiling. Very retro.

"So what's yours?" Wade asked. Gwen bit her lip and looked thoughtfully up at him. Under that red mask of confidence, there was a boy who needed love. Under that scarred skin was a boy who was begging for her not to hurt him any more than he already had been.

"I promise that this year, I'm going to work my hardest to give you the most normal of a life I can." she resolved, pulling his mask back down over his chin.

"Dawhhhh, thanks babe, but I don't think you'll get much normal from me." he replied. Gwen laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I meant normal for us!"

Deadpool smirked and dipped Raven down low over his knee.

"It's just us two mercs against the world, then."

He pulled his mask up again so he could lean down and press his lips against hers once more, smirking in satisfaction as he felt her kiss him back. He knew from the way she kissed him back that he would be getting lucky tonight.

As they rose back up, neither of them felt as if anything was missing from their lives. The adversities they currently faced didn't seem so bad. Right now, in the middle of this dance floor, their new life together began and together, they could face anything this new year had to offer.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_This Is What It Feels Like by Armin Van Buuren feat. Treavor Guthrie _

_Alive by Krewella_

_Deadpool by Harry Gregson-Williams_

_Cracks (Flux Pavillion Remix) by Flux Pavillion (the original's by Freestylers if you prefer that one)_

_Clarity by Zedd _


	32. Chapter 32

_Blaaaargh...I always feel obligated to write something here...meh..._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, and...do I really have to say it by now? I own Raven and blah, blah, blah...let's get on with it then!_

* * *

"Babe! Where did you want these pillows again?"

"On the new couch, Wade!"

"Gotcha!"

The Merc with a Mouth tossed the multicolored pillows onto their brand new black leather couch and sighed happily.

Even though it has only been a week since New Year's and since Gwen's tearful departure from the X-Mansion, his apartment had already been drastically changed for the better.

His red walls were looking brand new and any holes were replaced with fresh drywall and pictures of each other and their friends. His floors were clean, fresh cedar planks, protected by various area rugs sporadically spaced around the apartment's floor. His sinks and other plumbing systems were now completely operational. For the first time since he moved in, the place was actually a space where someone would want to live in.

_"And not just because we have to either!"_

Despite the fact that Gwen had been primarily in charge of the decorating, Wade had to admit she hit the nail right on the head with almost all of her choices. The apartment looked like a perfect blend of both of their personalities.

_"I still don't understand why we couldn't have kept our giant Domino poster."_

**_"Really? You don't?" _**

Wade cringed when he recalled the day Gwen discovered that piece under all the filth that had once been his apartment. She didn't say anything-not one word- as she calmly took the poster down, folded it up nicely, and lit it on fire over the oven. There was no negotiating with that one.

**_"I doubt we would've been half that calm if we found a picture of Remy like that in her possession."_**

"True." Wade muttered, picking up a picture frame that held one of the only pictures of Gwen and Remy together. Gwen had told him it was taken at her first Mardi Gras since her escape. Remy had picked out her sexy, black, feathered outfit himself and even helped her paint her face for the occasion.

Their smiling faces stared up at him happily and Wade felt a sense of relief wash over him. Judging by how possessively Remy had his arm wrapped around her small waist, it looked like it would've only been a matter of time before they would've became an item.

Mr. Shugums barked happily from his side, his golden tail swishing from side against the clean floor.

"Heyyyy, buddy, caught any squirrels today?" Deadpool scratched his faithful companion behind the ear.

_"Even Mr. Shugums is squeaky clean!"_

**_"I never knew his fur was such a bright yellow before."_**

Yes, even Mr. Shugums felt the Gwen effect. He was no longer filthy and over fed, but was now bathed and walked regularly by Gwen.

_**"Speaking of which, is she still working on her computer."**_

"Yeah, I think so." Wade answered, looking towards the bedroom where he had left Gwen earlier that day to work alone while he took care of unpacking and setting up their new coffee table they had ordered online.

It had been a good couple of hours since he had last seen her emerge from the comfort and safety of the white fluffy sheets of their bed. She was on to something, but it didn't seem like it was just onto Gideon's location either.

He knew she was either working on some type of science project or trying to pin down their contract. Between studying and analyzing DNA strands and using her high tech tracking program, it was hard to tell. It's not like he was complaining though, as long as she was happy he was happy.

"Hey, babe," he called, walking through the hall towards his bedroom "I was thinkin maybe you and I can take Mr. Shugums to the park! See if he can pee our names into the snow! It would make for a great cover photo on Twert, right?"

"Yeah!" she called back, her fingers tapping against the keyboard furiously, "But I don't think he has that level of control!"

"Yet! It's all about practice, practice, practice!" Wade interjected, running through his bedroom door and flying pterodactyl style into their bed.

"So, whatcha up to today?" he asked, rolling onto his back as Mr. Shugums hopped onto the bed with them. He could see an upside down map of New York with a crosshair scanning constantly from district to district.

"Looking for our first target." she answered "I can't find anything on Sheik, but I figured if we can get our hands on Gideon, we'll be able to find Sheik."

"Oh, great plan." Wade sat up and rested his chin on her shoulder. He loved it when she included him in certain aspects of her life. It was their bed which was covered with their sheets and they loved their dog who ate their food inside what would be their apartment after Gwen added her name to the lease at the end of the month.

"Do you have, like, super sonic eyes? Cuz your screen is giving my eyes whiplash."

Gwen chuckled and kissed the top of Wade's scarred head.

"No I don't. I just gotta keep an eye on it while it's scanning his various locations because, with all this data, it tends to make my computer freak out a bit."

He nodded and let his arms snake their way around Gwen's waist. It was so nice to be involved in a contract that didn't require him to run around the city for information.

**_"We wouldn't have to if we did research like this."_**

_"Ew and actually have to read? No way! Besides, that's what we have a super smart girlfriend for!"_

Gwen groaned and pushed her laptop off her lap and rolled onto her back, taking Wade with her.

"This guy is good at hiding." she whined, tracing her fingers along the contours of the scarred skin of his arms "He checks into multiple hotels under different names, has doubles running around the city at all times, and even sends photoshopped pictures of himself into the media just for shits and gigs."

"Well, it's a good thing you're so good at seeking." he replied, tweaking her nose. Their yellow lab crawled forward to give Gwen a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

The dark haired girl giggled and gave the dog a one armed hug.

"True. So far I have it narrowed down to three locations. If the computer doesn't crash, I should have the final answer within the next twenty minutes."

"See? That's not so bad! So whatcha gonna do with those twenty minutes?"

Gwen bit her lip in thought.

"Well, I could call Rogue and see if I can set up a lunch date for us girls this weekend. I could also finish balancing the checkbook. Or I could-"

Wade silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"Or you can get that cute butt of yours out of this bed and into the shower for some naked Wadey time." he suggested. Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Naked Wadey time tends to take a bit longer than twenty minutes."

"I know." the scarred Merc replied "I was thinking we could try for our first speed round."

Gwen giggled and rolled her eyes. As tempting of an offer as that sounded, she would have to pass. Besides, the day wasn't nearly over. Depending on the results, they could have the rest of the afternoon for naked Wade time.

Maybe tonight she could draw a portrait of him on their bed naked. Or even in front of the fireplace or in the shower. She couldn't make up her mind. Getting him to sit still for a portrait would be a challenge, though. But it would be completely worth it, though, to Gwen, his entire body was a work of art.

"You know you want it." he whispered into her ear "You've got that look in your eye that says 'I need me some of Wade Wilson's scarred penis'."

Gwen laughed and slapped his chest playfully. Even though it was true, she hated how he referred to that area as being 'scared' or 'disfigured' or any of his other horrible nicknames for his penis. She liked it and just wanted it to have a positive name.

Wade grinned and rolled over on top of his pale girlfriend. His hands traveled all around her body, being smacked away from their targets by Gwen's hands.

"No! Wade, seriously! I wanna get this done!" she pleaded.

"Aw, come on, babe." he cooed as he ducked his head down into her neck, behind her long dark locks, "It's ribbed for your pleasure. Haha."

Gwen laughed and pushed against the merc with all her might, effectively rolling him over onto his back. Before he could make a move against her, she pulled his arms above his head, looking down only to marvel at the exposed skin under his black wife beater.

However, before she could be drawn into participating in naked Wadey time, her computer pinged, causing the pair to jolt in surprise.

"Well, that sounds promising." Wade stated before grumbling "Stupid cock blocking contracts."

"I don't believe it!" Gwen exclaimed as she pulled her computer back on her lap "You actually found him, you glorious miracle of technology!"

The green dot, which affirmatively marked her target's location, blinked approvingly back at her. Gwen grinned and clicked on the dot.

"He's at the Plaza." she read off the small black information box that had popped up "100% search success...damn bastard probably rented the whole thing out and packed it full of guards, though...hold on..."

Her eyes narrowed and she leaned in closer to the screen. Wade leaned in also, not sure what he was supposed to be looking at, but happy to be a part of it anyways.

"What is it?" he asked "You need to download Firefox or something?"

She shook her head and pointed to the tiny red square that marked his estimated time of departure.

"According to his Blackberry-"

"Whoa, this thing can hack into this guy's Blackberry? And more importantly, this guy still has a fucking Blackberry?!" Wade interjected. Gwen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. This is why she liked to work alone.

"Yes and yes. Anyways, it says he's meeting up with Sheik tonight and then leaving early tomorrow morning."

"And that's...bad, right?" Deadpool questioned, struggling to out the pieces together in his jumbled up mind.

"Yes, Wade. Very bad." she answered "This means we either have to get this guy tonight or wait till God knows how long until I can find him again."

Neither option was ideal, but at least attempting the kills tonight would get them some progress. After all, even if they both did die, they'd just respawn at wherever Gideon decided to drop their bodies. Unless he decided to chop up their bodies first. That wouldn't be pretty.

"Alright. I got it. So we're leaving in five, right?" Deadpool asked, rolling out of their bed and making his way to the closet for his uniform. Gwen crawled to the edge and let her feet dangle over the side.

"What do you mean? We don't even have a plan set up! That place is packed to the brim with dudes and it would just be suicide to just run in there guns a blazin'!"

Deadpool snorted and tossed Raven her bodysuit.

"Pfft. Yeah, unless you have a healing factor which, luckily, we both do."

Raven frowned and fingered the zipper of her suit. That went against everything Cable had ever taught her. She never relied strictly on any of her powers ever since that day when she killed those Irish gangsters. It was too dangerous and, with her ability, she could possibly contract something worse than stage four lung cancer.

She shuddered at the thought, not imagining how it could get worse than lung cancer. Her eyes glazed over to Deadpool, who was hopping around the closet trying to get his leg into his tight pants.

Then again, maybe it could.

But it was just a chance she needed to take.

"Alright. Let's do this."

* * *

The dynamic duo pulled up on their scooter a couple of blocks away from the Plaza, as to avoid as much suspicion as possible; which was immensely difficult since the two of them combined carried enough ammunition on them to look like a walking gun store.

"Ok, I know I'm the one who suggested we leave early, but just charging through the front door seems a bit dumb." Deadpool stated after locking his precious scooter up next to a streetlight.

"Like I keep telling you," Raven replied, "We're not 'charging', we are simply going to walk in and keep our guns to ourselves until we run into any issues."

Deadpool nodded, not really seeing the point in laying low and then killing people when shit hit the fan, but it was technically her contract so she was in charge.

He watched as she adjusted her utility belt and patted over the various pouches that covered her suit.

"See? That's something you can't get from eHarmony: a woman who can appreciate the value of multiple pouches." Deadpool commented. Raven rolled her eyes, the corners of her black painted lips pulling up into a smirk.

"Yeah and I highly doubt I'd be able to find that many crazy motormouths like you on there either, but then again-" she gave him a playful wink "I haven't checked my profile in a while."

She turned on the balls of her feet and walked cheerily down the sidewalk towards one of the most famous hotels in New York. Deadpool followed close behind, staring at her shapely ass as it swung from side while she walked.

_"It's been a while since she's worn that jumpsuit."_

_**"Indeed. We should change that."**_

"Alright, play it cool." she muttered, slowing down so they would walk through the doors together "I'd rather not have a gratuitous amount of collateral damage on our hands."

"It's just gonna happen anyways. Jesse, Jerry was right, you have gone soft." her partner mumbled back, earning him a sharp jab in the side.

They walked past the guards, who were obviously disguised as bellhops and cleaning people, and made their way to the front desk. Minus the sounds of the clacking of Raven's heels and the occasional squeaking of Deadpool's shoes on the marble, the entire lobby was completely devoid of all sound.

"Excuse me miss, I've got this lovely lady in my company and I need to rent out your finest room so I can ravage her body with chocolate sauce and whipped cream." Deadpool said loudly once they reached the front desk.

Raven felt her cheeks flare up and she clenched her fists tightly at her side. She forced herself to smile kindly at the male host. It was obvious this man was one of Gideon's henchmen.

"In case you haven't noticed." the man spat in a harsh Cockney accent, "We're booked."

"I'm certain you could clear out one room for the right amount of euros, eh, chum?" the red clad Merc replied. The burly British man adjusted his seat and Raven knew he was reaching for a gun that was most likely taped underneath the desk. She slowly rested her own hand on her gun, itching to pull it out and blow this guy's brains out.

"Ya know, I'm really sick of you Americans barging into wherever you want, demanding whatever you want, then throwing your money around when you don't get your way." the Brit growled. Raven smirked and nicknamed him the British Bulldog in her mind.

"Actually, I'm Canadian." Deadpool replied, jabbing his thumb in Raven's direction "She's American."

Raven took this as a cue to pull her gun out of her holster and shove the barrel in the British Bulldog's mouth.

"Yeah, and I don't know what rock you've been living under, but due to the recent economic crisis, we Americans have actually been throwing our guns around when we don't get our way."

The not so discreetly disguised guards immediately stood up and were prepared to fire, only stopping because Deadpool had both of his pistols fixed on them.

"Who the fuck are you guys?!" one of the guards demanded. Raven grinned at the brave man over her shoulder, cocking her gun for effect.

"Animal patrol." she replied. She turned her attention back to the fake host and pulled the trigger, smirking with satisfaction as the immense amount of blood from the man's head splattered all over the white walls and her own white face.

The room immediately erupted in gunfire, causing the two mercs to take cover behind the receptionist's desk. Raven snatched the former henchman's gun and checked its ammo before tucking it into her belt.

The noise was deafening and the amount of exploding pillows and papers made visibility extremely difficult and almost nonexistent. Plus, despite how well crafted this desk was, it wouldn't hold up well against the enemy's automatic weapons.

"Animal patrol?" Deadpool shouted over the gunfire. He stood up and unloaded a couple of rounds into an unfortunate gang member.

"Yeah!" Raven shouted back, firing two rounds into another gang member "I nicknamed our dearly departed host the British Bulldog before sending him to doggie hell!"

"I didn't know you were a wrestling fan!" he stood once again and fired more shots at their opponents "Bang! Bang bang bang! Bang! Die, already, wouldja?!"

"Not really!" she replied, taking her now spent pistol and throwing it directly into a gang member's head; giving Deadpool the opportunity he needed to shoot him in the face "I just couldn't think of anything else!"

She stood up and fired a shot into the last man's skull. The lobby was once again silent, minus the sound of falling papers and their shoes against the marble.

"What about King Deadward? Or The London Bullet in the Eye?" he paused to press the button on the elevator "Oh! Oh! How about Lord Killington?"

Raven rolled her eyes as the elevator door opened and the pair stepped inside. She knew Gideon was probably well aware of their presence in the hotel. In fact, she was counting on it. To see the look of fear on his usually smug face would just make her day.

"Alright, well you can give nicknames to the next guys we kill since you're so good at it." she replied, watching the floor numbers light up as they passed by.

It just hit the black haired girl that she had killed someone of her own free will for the first time in years. She felt a tinge of regret, wishing she had killed him more ceremoniously. Oh well, no use crying over spilt blood. This next one would be better.

Gideon was barricaded on the top floor and the only way in or out of this special room of his was through this elevator. It would all be smooth sailing from here on out unless-

The elevator jerked to an abrupt stop and the lights went out, leaving the pain in complete darkness.

"Fuck this guy." Raven groaned, her eyes already searching for a way out.

"Well, this was a nice trip, sweetheart, but since we're kinda royally boned right now, where do you wanna guess Gideon is gonna dump our bodies?" her companion commented.

"He's not gonna dump anything, but about five liters of blood all over his pretty floor." she said, her eyes catching sight of the emergency exit hatch on the ceiling "Now, c'mon and follow me."

"I see what you're getting at, but I will warn you, I sucked at this in gym."

* * *

_"Imagine the work out our pecs are getting right now! And our biceps!"_

**_"Keep climbing, man! The cancer patient is beating you!"_**

"Hey, babe, how's it hangin?" Deadpool shouted up at her. Raven rolled her eyes and paused for a moment to wipe some sweat off her brow. Even in this freezing elevator shaft, anyone climbing up five stories with nothing but their own two hands to help them was bound to work up a sweat.

She coughed into her hand, blood flying freely from her mouth. This cold air combined with the strenuous activity was just killing her lungs.

"I'm fine, Wade! Just keep climbing!" she coughed. Deadpool rolled his eyes and kept putting one hand in front of the other.

**_"She sure is a stubborn one, isn't she?"_**

"If you wanna put it lightly." he muttered, looking back up at the black leather clad woman. So far, she only seemed really passionate about him and her science. However, ever since she had taken this contract, it was as if a completely different fire had been lit in her belly. It was oddly refreshing for the other merc to see.

_**"It's almost like she was born to do this!"**_

_"I agree! I mean, didja see how she killed that guy? No hesitation! Flawless execution! Haha!"_

Her arms throbbed, but she continued to climb higher and higher. The other guards stationed on the different floors would probably be on the move by now and will probably discover that the two mercenaries were no longer in their tiny metal prison. The sooner they reached the target floor, the sooner they would be able to regain the upper hand of this mission.

Raven took out one of her swords from the sheath on her back and drove it into the golden doors of the top floor elevator. She pushed against it with all her might to pry them open, but to no avail.

"Dammit!" she cursed, withdrawing her sword and hitting the concrete ledge in frustration.

"Relax, babe!" Deadpool panted, joining her on the ledge "First, we charge the door."

"Wade, now's not the time to be making fun of Gamb-"

She stopped when she noticed that the masked merc currently held a large amount of c4 in his hands.

"I don't remember packing c4." she commented.

"Are you kidding?! I never leave home without it!" he replied with a wink "Now, get back down there so I can make us a grand entrance!"

Raven nodded, kissing his masked cheek, and sliding down the elevator shaft a few feet. She watched as Wade expertly placed the explosives on the beautiful golden doors. He argued amongst himself for a bit about how much to use at first, but eventually conceded to using all of it.

"Cover your ears." he instructed her, taking a remote out of one of his many pouches "And get ready to do some killin'."

"This isn't my first rodeo." the seasoned merc replied, covering her ears "Just don't slow me down."

Deadpool grinned and pressed the detonation button on his remote. The pair clung to each other as rubble and debris fell out of the now open door.

Raven let go of Deadpool, letting herself free fall for a brief moment before being caught and thrown up to the ledge.

Immediately, she was met with an onslaught of gunfire. Thinking quickly, she drew both of her swords and ran forward through the hall, deflecting the bullets as they came. She could only hope Wade was right behind her, but there was no time to stop and check. First, she had to take out these dudes.

Once out of the confined hallway, Raven sheathed her swords and drew her two Uzis. She grinned as she took a step forward and pulled the triggers. The deafening sound of her own machinery mingled with the enemy as she ran through the crowd of guards once more, killing each of them with remarkable accuracy.

Once she reached the middle of the hall, she spun and pressed her back against that of Deadpool's. Both were deathly serious as they kept their guns drawn and ready to fire.

After a brief moment of silence, they realized the hall was cleared. Raven smiled as adrenaline pumped through her body and out her fingertips. Now that was how to take her first kills.

"You know, I could've taken them." Deadpool panted "Fifty against one isn't too bad."

Raven snorted. This guy was really paranoid to pack practically all of his remaining guys into this tiny hall. He was probably trying a Spartan like defense, but it was pretty much child's play for two highly trained fighters both endowed with a healing factor.

"Whatever. Let's move. This place is huge. He could be anywhere, so be careful. And don't kill him yet, got it?" she ordered.

"No killing any mob bosses, but everything else is fair game."

Raven rolled her eyes and began to scout out the penthouse. As long as he understood not to kill Gideon, she really didn't care what he did.

It's not like finding him would take that long anyways. That is, if Raven's theory was correct.

"Die! Die! Diediediediediediedieeeeeeee!" Deadpool shouted from where she presumed to be the kitchen. She also heard gunshots in addition to bodies collapsing to the floor. So far, so good.

She kicked down the door to the guest bedroom and entered carefully, shooting the only inept guard in there.

Nope. Gideon wasn't in here; not like Raven expected him to be. She just thought it would be smart to check.

Moving onto an unoccupied bathroom and a master bed room that now held four more dead bodies, Raven knew her hunch was right. The only place left to check was the study and if he wasn't there, then this whole thing would've just been a waste of time for everyone, right?

She pressed herself against the wall next to the door and took a deep breath. Deadpool was making his way down the hall carrying a bottle of really expensive Champaign and two glasses. God, he was an adorable little weirdo.

"Hey, babe!" he whispered loudly, pressing himself against the other wall "I was thinking we could celebrate with some bubbly once this is all over."

Raven snatched the bottle from Deadpool and spun it around by its neck. She had been wondering how she could disarm a possibly armed Gideon without unintentionally killing him and she had never heard of someone dying as a result of a Champaign bottle being smashed against their head.

"Deadpool, I need you to take out any remaining guards while I take care of Gideon. You think you can do that?" she whispered. He sighed and dropped the glasses, pulling his guns out of the holsters on his hips.

"Only if you say please. You've been so bossy today." he frowned. Raven smirked and lifted up his mask to plant a soft peck on his lips.

"I'm sorry. Pretty please?"

He grinned and pulled his mask down. He actually didn't have that much of a problem with Raven being so uptight on a job like this. It was her first contract in a few years and her reputation had been sullied during her inactivity, so she had to execute this contract perfectly to get it back. All Deadpool really wanted was for her to give him a kiss.

_"Aren't we just the sneakiest?"_

_**"Just like Sly Cooper."**_

_"You think the readers know who that is?"_

**_"They should. Otherwise they're either too young or had a horrible childhood."_**

"Alright, everyone." Deadpool stood and posed in front of the large wooden double doors "It's time for the baker to do his taxes."

Raven rolled her eyes as he kicked down the door, immediately engaging the remaining guards in a gunfight.

She ducked under his muscular arms and ran past the gunfire, making sure to keep the Champaign bottle safe against her chest. Gideon was behind the desk, clearly frightened and desperately trying to find a weapon of some sort. That's the look Raven wanted to see.

With a smirk on her face, she launched herself up into the air and spun three times before landing behind the panicking man.

"Hi there!" she said, rather cheerily before smacking him upside the head with the bottle. He held the affected area in pain as he continued to search for his gun.

"Ah! You crazy, bitch!" he screamed as blood dripped down the side of his head as he rummaged through his drawers. Raven sighed, disappointed that she had wasted such a nice bottle of alcohol on a failed attempt to knock him unconscious.

"You need help, babe?" Deadpool called as he walked towards her and with his task completed. She removed her combat knife out of her belt and spun it expertly in her hands.

"Nah, I got it." she replied, driving the knife into the mob boss's hand. He screamed in pain and disbelief before passing out in shock on his desk. Raven's face scrunched up in pain as she began to furiously cough in her closed fist.

Immediately, Deadpool was at her side and helped her over to a couch full of bullet holes. He set her down gently, stroking some hair out of her face. Her face was filthy with gunpowder, grease, and dust. Some blood splattered from her lips to her hand and her face was contorted in pain.

_"I hate that! Make it stop hurting her!"_

_**"With what?! Our morphine bullets?"**_

"Hey, you alright?" he asked. She nodded, her coughing refusing to settle down. All of this activity had probably agitated her lungs to such a point that it would take a few minutes for it to be normal again.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Just continue with the plan, ok? Sheik should be returning to confirm his latest delivery any time now and we have to make sure everything looks normal."

She struggled to stand, but was forced back by Deadpool.

"You need to stay here until you stop sounding like my aunt Agnes." he assured her "I'll take care of making sure everyone looks like they're at a weekend at Bernie's."

Raven nodded, continuing to cough into her hand. Somebody needed to stay here and tie up Mr. Baxter anyways. Even in her sickened state, Raven could manage that.

* * *

Sheik entered the Plaza with his head held high. Not only had he just completed a very lucrative contract, but had also ensured that the Baxter crime family wouldn't be killed by their latest customer.

He nodded to his salutations to his fellow crime members. His eyes rolled when they didn't nod back, but instead continued to read their Esquire and Sports Illustrated. Typical American's. No respect.

The Iraqi runner flashed his ID card to the man at the receptionist desk. Once again, another perfect example of American stupidity. They were inside and, if that wasn't enough, it wasn't even that bright outside. There would be no need for sunglasses.

Sheik didn't question it, though. He had experienced enough confusing American activity in his lifetime to learn what was incredibly outrageous and what was just the average.

He stepped inside the golden doors of the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

As the elevator rose, he thought about what his employer would say about the most recent offer the woman, known only to him as Mistress, gave him before they left.

"I want you to find my elder sister." she had said, tossing him a small picture, "And bring her to me alive. Do this, and I will make sure your rewards are endless."

He pulled the picture out of his surplus jacket and stared at the beautiful, black haired woman who stared back at him with empty, soulless black eyes. The beauty this woman held was masked by those dead eyes. He knew these were the eyes of a woman completely dead inside.

Gideon would definitely accept it. An offer as easy as retrieving a young woman with an endless payoff was just too good to pass up. So far, it was turning out to be a smooth ending to a relatively easy mission.

Sheik reached the top floor and immediately drew his gun. The huge golden doors that were usually there to greet him had clearly been blown off and replaced by spray painted cardboard.

The trained runner, kicked the boxes down, and aimed his gun at the red clad man standing behind the large desk where his current employer was tied up and bleeding.

"Heyyy! Look! It's the Iron Sheik making his big comeback!" the masked man exclaimed, "I didn't know I would be meeting so many professional jimmy rustlers today!"

Sheik cocked his gun and was halted from firing a shot at the man by the feeling of a gun barrel pressed against the side of his head.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." a female voice warned him. Sheik closed his eyes. He knew he was outmatched, but to be taken down by a woman was completely unacceptable.

He inhaled deeply before delivering a swift elbow jab directly into the unsuspecting woman's face.

"Shit!" she cursed, holding her now broken and bleeding nose "Who hits a girl?! You fucking dick!"

Using this as a distraction, Sheik made a mad dash for the elevator. If he could get out of here in time, he could probably get the men in the lobby to hit him.

As the elevator began to drop, it hit him. Gideon's men never acted so nonchalantly upon newcomers entering his lair. They would've at least looked up at him. Stupid mistake, but hopefully not a deadly one.

"You ok, babe?" Deadpool shouted, keeping his gun pressed against the head of Gideon. Raven nodded, wiping the blood off her nose with fury burning in her heart. She was growing soft. Back in her prime, there would be no way a contract would escape that easily.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" she spat, tucking her gun back into the holster. She was running low on ammo, it would be careless to fire down the shaft without being able to see the target.

"Stay here and keep an eye on Mr. Baxter!" she ordered, standing at the edge of the elevator shaft "I'm going spelunking."

And with that, she leapt off the edge. Luckily for her, the emergency opening was still available for use and she aimed her decent for that.

She landed somewhat gracefully in the elevator, causing the machine to jerk dramatically. Sheik aimed his gun at her, ready to fire.

In the split second it would've taken him to shoot, Raven kicked the gun out of his hands, grabbing it by the barrel and shoving it into her belt before readying herself for a fight.

It would've been easier just to shoot the bastard, but no man could hit a woman and get off that easily. Especially if that woman was the Scary Mercenary.

"I know who you are!" Sheik exclaimed, recognizing his opponent as the woman who's picture he now held. This woman he faced was different, though. She looked healthy and her eyes were burning with fury and a will to live. This was a woman with something to fight for.

"Cool beans! And I know you, too!" she replied, delivering a swift kick in the man's jaw, sending him spinning into the support railing. She reached for the neck of his jacket, intent on lifting him into the air, but was stopped by his large hand on her wrist.

He turned and kicked the dark haired mercenary straight in the gut, releasing her and sending her flying back to the other side of the elevator.

"You look different than your picture!" he commented, approaching the woman as she struggled to catch her breath "I must admit, though, I never expected you to come to me!"

Raven coughed up blood into her fist. It wasn't from his kick, it was from her cancer; but he didn't know that. Her opponent probably thought his kick was something remarkable.

"You should've counted on it, since you managed to piss off my current employer."

"I piss off a lot of people, so excuse me if I don't remember every last one." he replied. Raven smirked, her coughing subsiding for now.

"Eh, I can understand that." she said, cracking her neck. Without stalling any longer, she flung herself at her target. They exchanged kicks and punches, each showing off their own unique fighting style. Hers was more fluid and acrobatic. His was powerful and sturdy. Like water crashing on rocks, they fought inside the tiny elevator.

"Your sister never told me how skilled of a fighter you are." the Iraqi fighter said, spitting some blood out on the floor. His lip was split wide open and was missing a couple of teeth. Also, his right eye was already starting to turn black.

Raven cracked her knuckles. She was also bloody, but that was about it. All of her wounds had long since healed; her broken jaw, her black eyes, her broken nose and ribs. Yup, they were good as new now.

"How do you know Dana?" she asked. The beaten man shrugged.

"So that's her real name? Interesting. No matter." he launched himself at her once more. He was in no condition to battle her now. In his weakened state, taking the once strong and proud Iraqi would be child's play.

Raven grabbed the man's outstretched fists and painfully broke his arm at the elbow. He fell to the ground in pain, clutching his injured arm to his chest.

Not losing momentum, Raven straddled the man, removing his gun from her belt and striking him across the face once more. She spun the gun in her fingers and pressed its barrel against his cheek.

"Now, tell me, how do you know Dana?" she demanded. The defeated man spat out a large clot of blood and smiled. Raven hated that; when people she overpowered continued to be prideful even after defeat.

"The contract I just finished..." he panted "It was for her."

"What did you deliver to her?" she asked, pressing her knee into his broken arm. He winced and hissed in pain.

"Ah! Weapons, ok? Just a fucking bunch of weapons!"

Raven nodded.

"And where did you deliver these weapons?"

"Three Mile Island."

Raven's heart sank. So, Dana managed to find the island all on her own; not that Raven was all that surprised. After all, Dana was a genius. However, she didn't expect her to find it so soon. That would mean her plans to begin experimenting would soon be in motion. All that she needed was someone who possessed the healing factor, which, ideally, was Raven.

"She's looking for you." the Iraqi continued "She already asked Gideon and myself to find you and bring you to her. I highly doubt she hasn't put out offers to others as well."

Her heart sank even further. The question was no how would she stop Dana from taking her, it was how would she be able to stretch out what time she had left. Dana would find her. She would send legions after her elder sister and, if she could not capture her, she would attack those who Raven held dear; starting with the furthest from her heart and ending with the closest.

Wade.

The man laughed beneath her. It was a surprisingly loud and boisterous laugh for someone so near to death. It infuriated the black haired girl even more.

"You cannot escape, my dark beauty! You cannot save anyone! Sooner or later, everyone you care about will be gone!"

Raven pulled the trigger, not even blinking as the man's blood splattered against her face. He continued to laugh, though. It was gurgled and full of blood, but it was a laugh.

She stood and aimed the barrel at his head. Without hesitation, she fired the last shot, effectively silencing him just as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor.

She pressed her boot against Sheik's body and rolled him out onto the white marble. His blood pooled around him and she noticed a small white rectangle had fallen out of his pocket.

With ginger hands, she lifted the small paper out of the blood, shaking off the excess so she could see the image better.

Staring back up at her, was her own face. It was the face that had haunted her dreams. Sunken cheeks, sickly pale skin, and dead black eyes stared up at her from underneath a partial curtain of red blood. It was the face of a monster; of someone who was so dead inside that killing others was the only thing that reminded her that she was still amongst the living.

She tucked the picture into her pocket and pressed the button to the top floor of the hotel.

Any police investigating this massacre would find no surveillance tapes. Before they would leave, Raven would take any incriminating evidence as proof to Jerry that both contracts would be filled. All and all, it was a job well done.

But the fact that eventually her younger sister would turn her back into the monstrous girl who's picture Raven now carried hung over her head like a storm cloud.

The elevator stopped at the top floor and Raven immediately pointed her gun and unceremoniously fired it into Gideon Baxter's head. His blood and some brain residue splattered all over Deadpool.

"Jesus Christ, babe! Good shot!" he congratulated. Raven marched forward and took a picture of the now dead mob boss.

"What's wrong? You don't seem happy. Be happy!" he demanded, seeing that something was up with the usually cheerful Raven. He hadn't seen her act so coldly since the day he first met her.

"Nothing. Let's go home." she replied. Explaining her current situation to not only Wade, but all of the X-Men in a way that would enable her to maintain her relatively normal lifestyle would be incredibly difficult.

She turned on the balls of her feet and took a few steps towards the elevator. She sighed heavily, realizing Wade was still next to the body and most likely pouting.

He didn't deserve that bad attitude. What he deserved was an explanation. They all did.

Raven turned and retraced her steps back to Wade.

His head hung low and his broad shoulders were slumped as he kicked the ground and mumbled something incoherent to human ears.

She placed a hand on his chin and lifted his head up. Using her other hand, she pulled off his mask and kissed him apologetically.

At first, he refused to kiss her back, but after a few seconds he caved and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his body.

"I'm sorry, babe." she murmured, resting her forehead against his and staring into his sickly yellow eyes "I just found out something really...unsettling."

"Wanna talk about it?" he replied, eager to help "Even though the po-po are probably on their way over here, we can play Dr. Phil."

She shook her head.

"Nah. I just wanna get home and relax. We can talk about it tomorrow, ok?"

He nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Ok, babe. Whatever you want."

Raven smiled and pulled him into a hug. She pulled his head into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. It was so difficult to imagine life without him. It wasn't as if he was her whole life. Not at all. That would be creepy. It was just that he had become such a large part of her day to day experience that it was pretty much routine, or as routine as you could get being with Deadpool. It was almost like riding on the same roller coaster that constantly changed of its own free will.

"I just wanna go home with you." she murmured "I just want us to be safe and happy together."

"We will, babe." he replied, not really understanding where all of this was coming from "I promise."

And she hoped with all of her might that he would be able to keep that promise.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Midnight City by M83_

_Never Let You Go by Third Eye Blind_

_Seven Deadly Sins by Flogging Molly_


	33. Chapter 33

_Hey, guys! Long time no see! Just thought I should let you know that life as a dual majoring college student has been really hectic and doesn't leave me with much free time, so thanks for reading and going along with my sporadic postings. As much as I would like to post one chapter a day, it's literally impossible with my schedule. Unless you would like chapters that weren't really well thought out and really really short. _

_Alright, enough of that. Time for the disclaimer!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Deadpool, or anything that is obviously not mine. I do own Gwen/Raven and any other OCs mentioned (unless stated otherwise). Enjoy and please keep on rating and reviewing!_

* * *

Gwen ran through the brightly lit white halls of the medical wing desperately, looking back only briefly to see that her pursuers were still behind her. These halls were not strangers to her. She was back on Three Mile and escape was so close, yet so far.

Her straightjacket, which had prevented her from using her powers or fighting back, made running extremely cumbersome. Oh well, at least her arms were free. It was just those stupid flailing sleeves and buckles that were an issue.

The security alarms were so deafening she could barely hear herself think. Her black hair flew about her and clung to the blood, dirt, and sweat on her face. She felt her lungs tighten. She was feeling weak, almost on the verge of collapse. But she would not let herself stop. Especially not with the outside world just a few doors away.

She closed her eyes, images of the torture she had already gone through flashed through her mind. All the needles, the poking and prodding, the slicing, electrocution, and that was just the beginning. And it was all just to test the limits of how far she could be pushed in order to receive, what Stryker called, "the cure".

Nothing was worth this suffering. Nothing was worth this torment. Gwen would rather die and be reunited with her parents then live through one more minute of this hell.

And that kept her legs pumping; kept her pushing her own body further and further towards the light of freedom.

It was one of the belts on her straightjacket, which had caught against a door handle, that brought her down to the white linoleum.

She struggled to get up, the fabric of her sleeves making it almost impossible to get a grip and push herself up. Tears of frustration and despair escaped her dark eyes and she reached towards the white door of freedom as it slowly closed before her.

That's when a large hand roughly grabbed her dark locks. She knew that hand as well as the smell radiating from it.

Another hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her up into the air. Claws dug into her neck. She gasped, but could not scream, as she kicked and pulled at the hand as best as she could.

"You fucking bitch." Victor Creed spat in her face, throwing the girl across the floor back to whence she came. Her body struck the ground with a sickening smack and slid a few feet before coming to a stop by a nurse's station.

The impact, along with the lingering pain in her chest, made her weak. She tried to crawl away; back to her cage. Anywhere to escape the wrath of Sabertooth.

It was pointless, though.

His boots echoed through the hall as nurses and doctors looked on; a mixture of fear and disgust in their eyes. She knew nobody would help her. She had no friends here.

Her face wrinkled in pain as he lifted her by her hair. One sickening crack later and Gwen found herself launched into a wall. Blood leaked freely from her nose and lower lip. Her jaw felt loose and the room shook before her. He shook as he marched towards her, fists clenched.

One by one, fist collided with flesh. Over and over again he struck her. She could feel and hear her bones cracking. Ribs, shoulder, wrists...nothing was spared from the blind rage of Victor.

With one final blow to the face, Gwen spun and hit the floor once more. Blood poured from her mouth and mingled with her tears, tainting the white color of the floor.

"I really wish that Stryker would take care of his own pets because personally," he shook his hands out, "I'm getting really sick and tired of doing it."

He brought his boot back and connected it to Gwen's gut. She cried out in pain and rolled onto her side. Again and again he kicked her. Back, hips, rear, shoulder blades, head. Nothing was spared. Her cries for mercy went unheeded as the beatings continued. Not that she expected anyone to help her anyways. It was more of a basic instinct. A cry for help and someone usually came running. Not this time, though. Not for Gwen.

The feral man reached for her once more, but stopped. Shocked to have him stop, Gwen looked up through two black eyes.

Standing next to him, was the handsome man she had seen in the surveillance videos. Slightly tanned and healthy skin, blonde hair, chiseled features, striking blue eyes, and a cocky smirk. There was no mistaking it. It was definitely him.

Wade Wilson.

"Got a problem, mate?" Creed growled. Gwen smiled, knowing what would happen next. This wasn't a dream; it was a memory. The beginning of her salvation from this hellhole.

"Yeah. I do." Wade replied. His eyes glanced down at her, causing her smile to fade. Instead of kindness and a blatant desire to disobey protocol, she saw hatred and disgust.

"I don't think it's right to have such an ungrateful girl misusing our innovative facilities here." he continued, keeping his blade on Victor's neck.

"Then what do you suggest we do with her?"

"Easy." Wade replied, taking his other sword out and spinning it with a flourish "We kill the bitch."

This was no dream. This was no memory. This was a fucking nightmare.

He drove the sword straight through her breast and into her heart. She gasped in pain, her wide eyes looking down at the blood that flowed out of her as the room faded into black.

* * *

Raven bolted straight up in bed, gasping for air desperately. Sweat glistened off her forehead as she pulled her hair back. Moonlight creeped into the room through the blinds.

Mr. Shugums whined and rested his head on the bed. His tail curled in between his legs and his dark eyes showed intense worry.

Raven patted the frightened dog on the head, giving him reassurance that she was alright. He refused to leave her side, though, and he plopped his butt down on the floor to sit by her side loyally.

"It's alright, boy." she cooed softly "I'm fine...I'm fine."

She looked next to her.

Thankfully, she hadn't woken Wade this time. Over the few weeks she had moved into the Wilson residence, she had nightmares almost every night. Sometimes Wade would wake up and hold her until the aftermath of the terror ceased. Sometimes he would carry her into the bathroom and make a nice, relaxing bath with warm milk and candles. Sometimes he would kiss her. One thing would lead to another, and she would wake up naked and happy the next morning.

He was kind. Yes, he was bat-shit crazy, but underneath all that he was kind. Nothing like the cold-hearted Adonis who had just slain her in her dreams. All the more evidence that it wasn't real.

Right now, he laid next to her sleeping. One arm rested over his closed eyes and his mouth hung wide open as loud snores, as well as copious amounts of drool, were expelled from the dark cavity.

She reached out and stroked the side of his scarred face as his bare chest rose and fell in the moonlight. This wasn't his finest moment by far, but he was still beautiful. At least to her.

Out of a spontaneous urge, Gwen lowered her lips down onto Wade's cheek. She pressed them there for a brief moment before moving to his ear.

She wanted to say something. The three words hung to the tip of her tongue, threatening to fall off the age and into Wade's ear canal. There would be a slim chance that he could hear her, but she didn't want him to know how deep her affection for him was this way. She wanted it to be special.

So, instead, she kissed his ear and slid out of bed. Mr. Shugums followed close behind as she made her way out into the living room.

He jumped onto the couch next to her, snuggling with his master's woman as she wrapped a blanket around the two of them and turned on the TV.

* * *

Wade Wilson ran through the dark halls of the laboratory. He had just killed his captors and set off the self destruction sequence. He only had a limited amount of time to find her and escape.

He checked every single door he ran past. Every cell, every room, every place with a door in front of it he tore apart from top to bottom, searching for her.

Already, explosions were going off. Fires had broken out and rubble fell from the ceilings. He didn't have much fun before everything went boom.

He opened the last available door and shut it tightly behind him. There was no way he was going back through there. He had to keep pressing forward. There was no way he would leave without her.

When he turned around, he was surprised to find himself in an emerald field, littered with wildflowers of all different reds, blues, and yellows. A large willow tree stood off in the background. A cool breeze blew by, making all the plant life wave at him as he made his way towards the tree.

_"How pretty is this?!"_

**_"Would be prettier if we could just find Gwen."_**

"Working on it." he muttered, pushing some of the taller grass out of the way.

There, in the distance next to a crystal clear lake and under the willow tree, she stood. Clad in a white sundress and a red ribbon tied into her black hair, Gwen stood and waved at him with one of her stunning smiles plastered on her face.

"C'mon, Wade!" she called to him "Let's go swimming!"

He smiled and picked up the pace until he was running through the picturesque field to the woman he had grown so fond of. He held no desire to escape this. This was paradise.

Her laugh rang like bells through the air as he reached her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, immediately pulling his mask off as she did so.

He never understood why she loved his face so much. His scarred, hideous, and horribly disfigured face; the face he couldn't even stand to look at unmasked in the mirror was the face she couldn't get enough of.

"Wade! You can't go swimming in your mask!" she chastised him "You won't be able to breathe!"

His eyes rolled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Even though she knew he had the healing factor just like she did, Gwen always was so worried about his personal safety. Whenever he would come back home with his uniform all torn up and wounds still healing, she would freak out and enter full on mamma bear mode. It was cute.

"And you can't go in this dress." he retorted. She giggled and smiled up at him. Their eyes locked and Wade felt that familiar tingling feeling rush out from his core and through his fingers and toes.

The happiness in her eyes faded into fear along with her smile.

"Babe, what's wrong?" he asked. His eyes fell upon her waist.

There was his answer. A large clawed hand clenched around her waist tightly. She looked down at it for a split second before looking back up at him with tearful, pleading eyes.

"Help me." she begged before being dragged into the depths of the lake by the hand.

This picturesque world instantly began to rot and fall apart right before his very eyes. The harsh stink of sanitizer and medical supplies flooded his senses as he suddenly found himself in a large operating room.

**_"This looks familiar. I think we're experiencing deja vu."_**

"Whatever. We can't worry about that now." Wade informed the voices "We gotta find Gwen. We gotta get her out of here."

"If you're looking for Gwen, you needent look too much further." an elder doctor informed him. Wade approached with extreme caution. This man, much like the rest of this place, was somewhat familiar to the mercenary. Something told him to approach this man with caution.

Upon closer inspection, Wade could see the man's ID card on the pocket of his lab coat.

'Dr. Emrys Killebrew.' the tag read. Wade didn't bother to read anymore. He kept his eyes fixed on the old man with one hand on his pistol in case this doctor tried anything funny.

The old man stepped aside to reveal a large coffin of liquid. Wade couldn't know for sure who or what was in it, but something in his gut told him it was Gwen.

_"Don't say that! We're gonna look into that icky looking water and get transported back to the magic field!"_

Wade ignored his voice and peered into the water. At first, he couldn't see anything. However, after a few moments, the water appeared to clear. As it became clearer and clearer, so did the identity of the person in the tank.

Sickly pale skin, sunken cheeks, and dark hair that floated around the skeleton of a woman like a ghost. It was Gwen. Even in this horribly decrepit state, it was her. No doubt about it.

Rage flared in Wade's gut. He spun around with both of his guns fixed on .

"The fuck did you do to her?" he demanded. The doctor smiled proudly and took a few steps forward. He ran a wrinkled hand across the cool surface of the clear confinement, admiring his work.

"My dear boy," he explained "I fixed her! Just like with you, her cancer will no longer be a threat to her life."

He chuckled and rested his hand over her face.

"In fact, nothing will. Of course, it will take some time for the healing factor to completely take effect and make her look alive again."

Her eyes shot open. Wade lowered his guns and leaned over the box.

Her black eyes. They were so expressive. So full of life and energy. They held the power to make him tell the truth when he was lying, to make him give up the last chimmichanga, to make him feel as if he was the king of the concrete jungle instead of a lowly meerkat destined only to become someone's meal.

The eyes that stared up at him now were not those eyes. They were dull and empty. They looked more like shark eyes or doll eyes. They weren't her's.

He held up his pistols against the sadistic doctor once more.

"Change her back." Wade demanded. The doctor's smile grew and he laughed.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that, Deadpool. You see, what I have here is the perfect version of what you were supposed to be."

"No. What you have here is my girlfriend that you turned into some kind of-"

"Some kind of what? Monster?" Killebrew taunted "She was a monster before. A being with no sense of the value for human life. Who kills not only to make a profit, but because it makes her feel in control and alive!"

"Shut up!" Deadpool yelled "Shut up and just give her back to me! Give her back!"

"This is her! Can't you see it?!"

"Is not!" Deadpool insisted "The Gwen I know is the sweetest, smartest, and most beautiful girl in the world! She makes dinner every night! She sews up my uniforms after every mission no matter how late it is so I have something nice to wear every day! Sometimes she even tucks a little extra cash into one of my pouches in case I forget along with a little note that says some stupid pickup line!"

_**"You're rambling, man."**_

"I don't care! My point is: that Gwen is more than just a lab rat or the perfect soldier. She's everything to me!" he cocked his guns "Now change her back."

"You're too late." the doctor cackled "Nothing can reverse the process now! Nothing you can do can save her! She's gone! Gone forever!"

This enraged Wade more than anything. He unloaded all of his rounds into the doctor's body, not stopping even after the body laid motionless on the floor. The laughing didn't cease.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Wade screamed, clutching his head in pain.

"You can't save her! You can't save anyone! Freak! Mutate! Haha! She's gone, gone, gone!"

"I said shut up!" he pulled another gun out of his pocket and pressed it to his skull. It wouldn't be the first time he would give the walls his signature Jackson Pollock. He knew he would see his lady, Death, but would he be reunited with Gwen there?

"Come find me, Wade." the dark haired woman's voice echoed in his head as he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Wade jolted up in bed in a cold sweat and reached over to Gwen's side of the bed. His heart sank when he saw she wasn't there.

"Babe?" he called, rubbing his eyes. It was early. The sun was just starting to creep into their dwelling. But there was no sign of Gwen. He felt his heart race. There was no sign of a struggle or disturbance.

"Gwen?" he called. Mr. Shugums was absent as well. He was probably with Gwen. That dog followed her practically everywhere.

"Baby?" he called again, his tone increasingly desperate and his eyes scanned the room. No sign of her. This was bad. He needed to see her. He needed to hold her just to know she was real.

**_"Relax. It was just a nightmare. We have those all the time."_**

_"But that one was so real and freaky! Usually that doctor only bothers us. Not Gwen."_

**_"Man up. She's fine. She probably had a nightmare too and went to grab a snack in the kitchen."_**

"I just need to make sure, guys. Is that so wrong?"

He rolled out of bed and made his way into the hallway. Before Gwen had moved in, his nightmares were almost as consistent as hers. They ranged in intensity from showing up to class naked to horribly familiar visions of intense pain and experimentation. It was a shock to not have had a nightmare in so long and to have had one so horrible in one night. But Wade knew Gwen could make it better. She always made things better.

The TV was on and running reruns of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air when he entered the living room. There was no sign of Gwen, but a sleeping Mr. Shugums could be seen laying on the couch.

"Baby?"

"I'm in here, Wade."

Her voice was so soft, so tired, so relieving. She smiled at him from the kitchen counter, a spoonful of ice cream in one hand and the carton in the other. She wore one of his t-shirts and had her hair tied haphazardly atop her head. Although she wore no makeup and still had some eye crusties in the corners of her eyes, she was still beautiful to him.

Wade strode across the space between them and wrapped her up into his arms. He held her there for a moment, inhaling her natural scent deeply.

_"I never wanna let her go."_

**_"Neither do I."_**

"Now, I seem to recall you and I agreeing that if we splurged on the Ben & Jerry's then we would share it equally." he murmured into her neck "This doesn't seem to equal to me."

Gwen grinned and set down her spoon and her ice cream. It was unusual for Wade to be up so early of his own accord. And for him to be holding her so tenderly like this meant only one thing.

He was afraid.

"You can punish me for it later." she cooed, pushing his head closer to her "Now, what's eating you, honey?"

"Melanoma." he chuckled. She frowned and pulled his head away from her.

"Wade." her eyes locked with his. Initially, Wade just wanted to make sure she was ok and never speak of his horrible nightmare ever again. He wanted her to see him as her superhero; a man completely unshakeable.

The look from those black eyes instantly made his resolve crumble.

"I had a nightmare."

She raised a dark eyebrow and titled her head. How interesting that the two of them would share a night of terror together.

"I take it that you had one too." Wade continued. Gwen nodded.

"Yeah. Same old, same old, though." she replied, not wanting to get into it "What was yours about?"

Wade snatched her discarded spoon and stuck it in his mouth. As the cool substance melted in his mouth, he exhaled deeply. Ben & Jerry's certainly made the best ice cream ever. Sure, they were a bit more expensive than other ice creams, but it always had a certain soothing effect which was always welcome to the palette. Especially after breakups and nightmares.

_"Looks like we like men now!"_

_**"Good thing Gwen is willing to share."**_

"Someone took you from me. Some...fucking old piece of shit locked you in a water box and-"

Gwen pressed her index finger to Wade's lips.

"Please, don't go into detail." she urged him, silently surprised at how accurate his description was, "I think we've both had enough scary shit for the night."

The scarred mercenary nodded and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"So, what do you suggest we do? I don't think we've done it on the counter yet." he whispered, his hot breath sending chills down her spine. She grinned and sighed.

"As much as I would love to christen our counter, I think we should both try and get some rest. You have a contract and if you wanna get it taken care of today you need to get up early if you wanna catch him on time."

Wade groaned and rubbed his face into the crook of her neck, squeezing his arms tighter around her.

"I see how it is. You want me to get out and go so you can get Mr. LeBeau in."

Gwen rolled her eyes and kissed the top of his head. She had grown so used to his jealousy over Gambit that it was unusual if a day went by without Wade making a single comment about it. In fact, she actually found it endearing; especially when he would pull his gun out at a Starbucks barista for adding a smiley face on her cup. It got them free coffee for life!

"Yeah. I wanna invite Remy and Peter Parker over for a three way." she giggled.

"Pfft. As if that goody goody Parker would know what to do in a three way."

_"Or a two way!"_

_**"Or even a one way!"**_

_"Oh! Burn!"_

Gwen rolled her eyes and pushed him away to arms length.

"Nah, seriously. I was gonna make us a special dinner. No more contracts or research. Just you and me."

"Mmmm. I like the sound of that." he purred.

"And maybe it will be a clothing optional affair."

Wade purred again, the image of returning home to Gwen naked and cooking sent all the blood rushing downwards. The fact that there would be no science experiments or research; just one night full of sweet sweet lovin' made Wade's head spin.

_"Yeah! All that constant serious bullshit has made things different between us."_

**_"Maybe all we need is just a night to turn things around."_**

"Oh, I like me the sound of that. You sure it's gotta be after the contract, though?" he asked. Gwen giggled and tweaked his nose.

"Yes! Now, let's go watch Fresh Prince and eat ice cream until we fall asleep." she insisted. Wade smiled and lifted her up off the counter bridal style. He pressed his lips against hers and carried her back over to the couch.

He laid her down and nudged the dog out of the way, not breaking the kiss once. She giggled as he trailed kisses down her neck, adjusting himself so he rested comfortably on top of her.

"Wade."

"Mphf."

"Wade."

"Mmmmmm?"

"The ice cream, Wade."

Wade stopped kissing her and raised a scarred brow.

"You're honestly thinking about ice cream when I'm laying down the moves? That's. cold." Wade smirked as he pushed himself up, straddling her waist.

"Haha. See what I did there, babe? About the ice cream and the cold?" he laughed. She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Wade. You're very clever." she winked up at him seductively, her lips pulling back into a sexy sweet smile "But I was actually thinking about what we can do with that ice cream."

Wade furrowed his brow and bit his lip. He stroked an imaginary beard and stared up at the moonlit ceiling in thought.

"We can...eat it?" he guessed. Gwen knew he wasn't entirely serious. He knew she was hinting at something sexual, but he always got really fired up when she told him exactly what she wanted in explicit detail.

"You're half right." she admitted, reaching up to pull him down to her face. He giggled mischievously as she whispered all the nasty things she wanted to do with that ice cream into his ear.

_"This is exactly what the inventor of ice cream had in mind when he made that delicious treat!"_

**_"I'm pretty sure half of these things go against some kind of ice cream law. Also, didn't we just get this couch? We shouldn't make it all dirty."_**

_"So what, stuffy? If you have such a problem with it we can do it on the floor! But we are going to do the ice cream sexy time with Gwen one way or another!"_

"Woo hoo! Ice cream sex party!" Wade cheered before bolting off into the kitchen. He returned in a flash carrying not only ice cream, but whipped cream and cherries as well.

Gwen giggled.

"Now, I know I didn't say anything about whipped cream and cherries."

He shrugged and led her onto a bare spot of the wood floor. He kissed her lips quickly and let her sit down on the floor.

"I improvised." he said, pushing the top of the can down, making the white fluffy substance fall all over the floor. Gwen reached over and scooped up some of the whipped cream on her index finger.

"Mmm...shall I call you the ice cream man, then?"

"Nah, but I can go get an ice cream man costume real quick if you want."

"Just get down here, Wade."

He grinned perversely, not lifting his finger from the top of the canister, and descended down upon her.

As he watched her squirm and moan while he started the process of turning her into his own giant ice cream sundae, Wade Wilson reflected on how awesome his life had become. He currently lived in a beautiful apartment with the most attractive woman he had ever seen calling him 'boyfriend'. Thanks to said woman, he hardly missed a contract and, on the contracts he did close, he would get paid almost double his usual asking price. Also, thanks to this woman who was now asking for chocolate sauce to be added to her confection, he sort of had a friendship with the guys and gals in the X-Mansion. He had memories. Good ones at that. And was even coming close to being able to buy the car of his dreams.

Initially, he had wanted a red Lamborghini personalized with his logo and all the fixings of an ultimate spy car with a license plate That said 'KILL4$'. But now that it seemed as if his relationship with Gwen had reached a completely different and more serious label, he was thinking of maybe sacrificing his car for something that they both could enjoy. She had been saying that Mr. Shugums could use a friend. Maybe they could get another dog and two matching red and black sports cars instead.

All of this because of her.

Wade smiled, feeling a familiar warmness spread from his heart to the rest of his body, and reached over for his phone. The way she looked now, it would be crazy not to take a picture.

"Waaaaade." she whined, seemingly unaware that a picture had even been taken, "Stop teasing me!"

He smirked and leaned down to grab a cherry from the tip of her breast with his teeth. She hissed at the sudden close proximity of his teeth on a nipple.

"Never." he replied, swallowing the cherry and descending down onto her lips. He lost himself completely in her after that. He didn't care about the potential mess that could stain the carpets or break the lamps and furniture. For the first time in Wade Wilson's memory he was serious about something.

He was serious about her.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Let Me Go by Avril Lavigne feat. Chad Kroger _

_Help is On the Way by Rise Against_

_You're Going Down by Sick Puppies_

_Hard to See by Five Finger Death Punch_

_Going Under by Evanescence_

_Unchained Melody by Righteous Brothers _


	34. Chapter 34

_Hey! Look at that! It's been a day and BAM! Another chapter! It's short, but hey, it's there isn't it?! MWAHAHAHA!_

_*ahem* Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, the X-Men, or anything that's obviously not mine. Review, brush your teeth, eat your vegetables, but most importantly: Enjoy!_

* * *

Gwen sent Wade off to his contract with a kiss on the cheek and a homemade breakfast burrito early the next morning. Thanks to their late night sundae making, they probably shared a grand total of four hours of sleep between them. However, despite their obvious desires to just stay at home and sleep, they knew what needed to be done in order for the special night to occur.

Besides that, Wade wanted to make a quick stop at the local animal shelter to pick out a surprise for Gwen before going off to murder for money.

_"So, wait, we aren't getting a super cool spy car with all the fixin's?"_

**_"It would appear so."_**

_"Stupid story!"_

_**"Well, would you rather have a perfect woman like Gwen or an awesome car?"**_

_"...it's like God damn Sophie's Choice up in here!"_

"I'll let you know when I get off so you have plenty of time to kick everyone out and clean up." Wade told her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before walking down the hall. Gwen leaned out of the doorway and shouted back at him.

"Yeah! And make sure you use protection when you're going out at fucking all those prostitutes!"

She could hear him laugh and say something about how nobody could compete with the Princess of Darkness as she shut and locked the door behind her.

Today would be yet another day of being confined to the small apartment with nothing, but the dog to keep her company. But something felt different about today. Something made happiness bubble up in Gwen's stomach and out of her mouth in the form of song.

"Smile though your heart is aching/Smile even though it's breaking" she sang softly, selecting the song on her iPod and pressing a button on a nearby remote to make it play throughout the apartment. She swayed back and forth, gliding back into the bedroom.

"When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by/If you smile through your fear and sorrow" she sang as she replaced Wade's oversized shirt with a white dress, glossy white tights, and slouched white socks. She spun around to the rhythm of the music, dragging a loving hand over Mr. Shugums' fuzzy head as she made her way to the bathroom.

"Smile and maybe tomorrow/You'll see the sun come shining through for you" her voice echoed and mingled with Nat King Cole's as she dragged a brush through her hair. Her life was chaotic; and it had been since her mother died. But she pushed through and did not give into the temptation of self-harm, violence, or prejudice against those who shown prejudice towards her. She smiled, even when she felt like breaking. Even when her world was falling apart, Gwen never lost the ability to smile.

And look what it has gotten her: a loving and eccentric boyfriend, a whole group of the best friends anyone could ask for, an adorable dog, a great apartment. The list went on and on.

"Light up your face with gladness/Hide every trace of sadness." she danced back through the hall on nimble feet. Yeah, she almost lost herself for a while, but it was Wade who woke her up by, quite literally, falling into her life. He had lost everything: memories, looks, and quite possibly even friends and family. But he still found the will to smile. Maybe it was because he was certifiable, but dammit he still did it, didn't he?

"Although a tear may be ever so near/That's the time you must keep on trying" she sang, dancing as she cleaned up what remained of the night of sexy sundaes. No matter what, she would keep her will to smile. Not as if such a thing would be hard since she had so many things to smile about.

"Smile, what's the use of crying?/You'll find that life is still worthwhile/If you just smile/ That's the time you must keep on trying/ Smile, what's the use of crying?/You'll find that life is still worthwhile/ If you just smile" she finished her song with a flourish, wiping some sweat off her brow. Cleaning didn't seem to clean as long when she listened to music.

"Alright, boy, you ready to start setting up our special night?" she asked Mr. Shugums. He barked and wagged his tail in response.

The sun had just begun to retreat into the horizon as Gwen began to gather ingredients to make Wade's tacos. So far, her day was busy and fairly uneventful. She vacuumed and dusted the entire apartment from ceiling to floor. All of the laundry had been done, the table had been set with special silverware and fancy black candles, and Wade had just texted her to let her know he was on his way back home; signaling it was time to begin cooking.

As she opened the cabinets and refrigerator, Gwen noticed they were not only running low on taco ingredients, but also on other grocery essentials too. She frowned and glanced at the microwave clock.

"Wade's probably on the highway now." she muttered to herself while scratching Mr. Shugums behind the ear "And I promised him a warm dinner when he got home."

She glanced at the front door briefly. The nearest, and coincidentally Gwen's favorite, grocery store was only a couple of blocks from Sunset Apartments. It was a Latin market owned by a very friendly and elderly Colombian couple. They knew her and Wade well due to their frequent visits.

"I think if I hurry I can make it there and back before Wade gets back, right?" she asked the dog. He titled his head with his ears perked up and Gwen rolled her eyes.

"I'm a grown ass woman and I'm more than capable of taking care of myself! I don't even know why I let Wade keep me all boxed up in here!"

That was a lie. She had chosen of her own free will to be confined to this apartment not because he had demanded it, but because she loved him enough to do even the silliest things to make him feel at ease.

"I'll only be a minute." she resolved, staring at Mr. Shugum's directly in the eyes "You stay here and keep an eye on the house."

The yellow lab barked happily, wagged his tail, and sat down right in front of the one thing in the entire house he would defend with his life: the fridge.

"Like master, like doggie I suppose." Gwen commented grabbing a pen and pad from the kitchen counter "But I guess I should write a note just in case he does manage to get here before me. He shouldn't be too mad."

There would be no doubt he would be upset, but after she got her hands on him and made him dinner he would go back to being putty in her hands.

She smirked as she wrote a quick note.

"You've spoiled me, Wade Wilson." she commented as she taped the note to a fridge. She pressed a kiss on the lower corner of the note before grabbing her purse and coat from the rack.

"See ya, Mr. Shugums!" she called before exiting the apartment for the first time in weeks.

* * *

About two hours later, Gwen exited the warmth of the cheery Latin market with her arms full of brown grocery bags. She definitely purchased way more than she had initially intended to, but the couple was so happy to see her that they manipulated the money right out of her wallet with their kindness; not that Gwen minded too much. She was just happy to be out and about; even if it was still so cold that snow still laid on the ground and she could see her breath.

She had plugged her headphones into her phone so that she wouldn't risk missing a call from Wade as she walked. The music selection wasn't as vast as her iPod, but it was better than missing a call.

But of course, just as things were going well, Gwen noticed a potential danger.

A group of suspicious looking men alerted her of trouble. It wasn't that they were men or the fact they were all huddled around a barrel that was spewing fire. It was the fact they were dressed in all black and clearly in assault mode.

They must've followed her, she reasoned, but for how long she had no idea. But her instincts told her that she needed to feign ignorance and return back to the market if she wanted to get out of this unscathed.

She pretended to check her purse for her wallet and feigned frustration as if she couldn't find the small rectangular fabric that stared her in the face.

She spun around on her balls of her feet and stomped back in the direction of the Latin market. She hoped she looked frustrated and unaware of the enemy's presence. That way, she could get back in the store and tell the shop owners, in Spanish of course, that she was in trouble and they could call somebody.

However, it was soon made clear that her plan would not be possible.

When she was a few feet away, she could see other dark clad men had already invaded the store. She could also hear the footsteps of the others she had seen before approaching her from behind.

"Shit." she curse under her breath, taking a quick right into a dark and unpopulated alley way. It led to a dead end and served primarily as the space which the Colombian couple kept their dumpster and fed local stray animals. She noticed a security camera by the back door. At least that would make whatever would happen next less of a mystery to those seeking to discover what happened.

"Hey, you!" one of the men called. Gwen jolted at the sudden closeness of his voice as she continued to search for a way out of this. The coldness made the dank walls to slippery to jump out of. The amount of guys made simply trying to flip over them impossible too. She had left the apartment unarmed and horribly unprepared and she only had herself to blame.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." she hissed, feeling incredibly stupid. Not only did this slip up indicate that she had indeed grown soft, but also proved she didn't learn from the first time she had majorly slipped up. That time led to her kidnapping and experimentation by Stryker and his team of sadistic doctors. She couldn't imagine what this time would lead to.

As a last ditch effort for freedom, Gwen cast aside her bags and rushed at the men. She managed to land a few good hits and kicks in, but the sheer number of men combined with the confined space soon handicapped her to a point where she was rendered practically motionless in one man's arms as the others surrounded her.

"¡Ayúdame!" she screamed as she struggled as best as she could against the men "¡Ayúdame, por favor!"

"Somebody shut her up before someone hears!"

"I'm working on it!"

"¡Ayúdame! ¡Ayúdame!" she continued to scream, hoping that the elderly couple inside would hear her and call for aid. She knew she would be gone by the time the aid arrived, but at least it would notify her friends of her disappearance before any news media could do so.

Gwen could see one of the dark men approaching her with a large needle full of a light blue liquid. She knew it was a sedative and soon the world around her would return to black.

And there would no longer be any Wade to light up the darkness.

"¡Ayúdame!" she cried out once more, tears of despair brimming up in her eyes. She felt a sharp sting in her neck and her world instantly returned to black.

* * *

_Song(s) Used: _

_Smile by Nat king Cole_

_Beyond the Sea by Kevin Spacey_

_The Way by Ariana Grande_

_Hey Brother by Avicii _

_Place to Rest by Linkin Park_


	35. Chapter 35

_Warning: this chapter is kinda sad and junk. Yup._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Deadpool, X-Men, or anything that isn't mine. Yup. Review and junk. Oh yeah, Enjoy!_

* * *

Deadpool entered the dark animal shelter at around 4:30. It wasn't that far away from the apartment, but he needed to hurry up, pick out a puppy Gwen would like, and get out before he hit traffic.

_**"It shouldn't be hard since Gwen loves all dogs."**_

"But we gotta pick out a special one, though." he muttered to himself as he approached the receptionist desk. The whole place smelled like animal. Some cats lounged on the desktop and a few more meandered about the floor. A grey parrot sat on a perch in the corner sleeping while a goldfish swam around in a tiny fish bowl on the coffee table.

_"Wait, do you mean Special K special, special kid special, or special X-Man kid special?"_

"Special K special, ya dingus. Although," the merc placed a gloved hand to his chin in thought "I never really saw what's so special about Special K anyways."

_"But can you see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch?"_

_**"Ugh! Enough with the cereal!"**_

"Um, excuse me, can I help you?" the receptionist asked from her place behind the desk. Frizzy red hair, a cat t-shirt with matching cat pants, and cat's eye glasses...yup...this lady was a crazy cat lady.

"Yeah, would you mind telling me how much that doggie in the window is?" he asked, leaning over the counter. One of the cats smacked at his masked face, causing the merc to smack the cat back, causing the poor thing to practically jump off the desk in surprise.

"If you mean to ask to see our selection of dogs." the woman visibly cringed and picked up the startled cat, stroking its head gently "They're to your right and straight down the hall."

Deadpool glanced down the indicated hallway. It appeared significantly darker than the already dark shelter. He could see puddles of what he hoped to be water on the floor. The dog enclosures on the other side probably weren't much better off either.

_"Well, looks like we're gonna be heroes after all!"_

**_"I don't think saving one dog fro a shitty shelter qualifies us as a hero."_**

_"Hmph! At least that dog will think we're a hero."_

"And Gwen, too." Wade mumbled, thinking about how happy she would be that he whisked a poor, helpless, doggie out of this horrible place. She'd probably wanna come back and get the rest of the dogs too.

_"And set this cat lady on fire too!"_

"Alright. Thanks, cat lady." he waved over his shoulder as he made his way down the hall. As he walked, he could hear the lady shout at him to take as many of those filthy mutts as his arms could hold. He shrugged her off, even though Gwen would be overjoyed to have a bunch of dogs running around the apartment.

He entered the room of incredibly loud and barking dogs. The scent of filth and wet canine slammed into his nostrils and almost made him fall over. A gloved hand reached to his face and covered his nose.

"Jeeze, I don't remember adopting Mr. Shugums being this...depressing."

**_"That's because we found Mr. Shugums as a puppy in Central Park."_**

_"Are you sure we didn't just borrow him and forgot to give him back."_

"Shut up, you two. I can barely hear myself think." he shouted over the incessant barking. The first kennel held a beagle. The second, a shaking rat dog. The third held a golden retriever.

All of these dogs were adorable and deserving of better homes than this one and Wade knew Gwen would've probably broken down in tears at the sight. However, none of these dogs really struck Wade as a dog that would hold a special relationship with Gwen.

He was about to give up when a particularly loud bark alerted him of a possible answer to his prayers.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Wade cooed as he squatted down to the dog's eye level.

The dog, a grey pit bull, approached the mercenary with a wide smile and its tongue flopping out of its mouth. Its ears were pointed and one was partially split. Its left eye was clearly dead and had a long pink vertical scar over it.

This dog, clearly one used in dog fights, showed no signs of vicious tendencies as it rubbed its side against the cage, wagging its tail vigorously as Wade rubbed its belly though the cage.

"Ha!" he laughed in surprise as the dog whined and howled in happiness at the human contact "This dog's got quite a motormouth on him!"

_"Or her!"_

**_"Sounds just like us."_**

"Looks like us too." Wade commented as the dog circled around to face him again. The poor thing's body was covered in scars and burn marks. When the pit's huge mouth shut, it was made known that it had a major underbite.

It wasn't the cutest dog, by far, but Wade knew Gwen would've thought it was the cutest thing she had ever laid her eyes on.

* * *

Wade pulled his scooter over and watched as screaming police cars sped past him. He was already running late to dinner because of that stupid cat lad trying to convince him the dog, a male who Wade decided to name "Chimmichanga" or "Chimmi" for short, was more suited to become part of the ashes of the other misfit dogs rather than a pet. Wade promptly responded by Threatening to kill all of the woman's cats.

Needless to say, Wade signed the adoption papers and even got the dog for close to nothing. He would be able to pick up the dog in a month, after all the paperwork was filed and the dog received his shots.

Gwen would be thrilled, even if he was late.

Wade pulled back on the accelerator and returned back to his course. As he weaved in and out of traffic, he hummed their song happily. So far, his life had turned out great. Sure, the writer had a couple of hiccups in making him to soft, or the storyline too much like "a day in the life" story, but it had all led to something good.

Now, he pulled his scooter into his usual parking space, he couldn't think of any complaints; minus the fact that he still didn't have a race car. Even the constant screwing of his upstairs neighbors didn't bother him because usually he and Gwen out screwed them, so to speak. Life was good for the Merc with a Mouth.

As he opened the door to his apartment, he was greeted by an incredibly excited Mr. Shugums. He reached down and pet his dog, tossing his keys onto a nearby table.

There was no smells of tacos to add to this greeting. No pale skinned, naked Gwen cooking at the stove. No welcome home kiss or even a verbal greeting.

It was quiet, minus the sound of the dog and Patsy Clein.

"Gwen? I'm home!" he called, walking through the apartment. He hoped she had decided to take a quick shower. He hoped she had fallen asleep. He even wished she had somehow became entangled in the bedsheets. He just wished she was there.

"Gwen?!" he called again, his tone growing more desperate "Aren't we a bit old for hide and seek?"

He opened closets, cabinets, shower curtains, and even underwear drawers. But he could not find her.

Mr. Shugums barked from the kitchen. Wade followed the barking back into the kitchen, noticing that Gwen had set up their makeshift dining table in a fancy Martha Stewart on Halloween way.

He had hoped to have seen Gwen entering the apartment with some kind of reason as to why she had left in the first place. He knew she spent some time on the roof, but she was never out there too long. Especially not in the cold of winter.

_"Wait! There's a note on the fridge!"_

The mercenary snatched the note off the fridge.

"Dear Wade," he read aloud "If you're reading this, I haven't returned from the store yet. I'm sorry I left, but we didn't have any of the ingredients I need for tacos. I'll be back really soon, I promise! Don't be too mad, please!"

She had signed the note with a heart and a kiss along with her name. He glanced at the clock on the microwave.

It was way to late for her to have not returned home by now. There was something wrong, he could feel it.

He immediately pulled his phone out of one of his many pouches and pressed '2'. It sucked that the phone automatically made voicemail speed dial '1', but at least '2' was the next best thing.

"C'mon..." he whined, tapping the side of his thigh impatiently as the phone rang.

"C'moooooon."

The phone continued to ring. Once, twice, three times and-

"Hey, you just called me. And this is crazy. But it's my voicebox. So leave a message maybe?" Gwen's voice echoed in his ear.

"Hey, babe, I'm home and I noticed you weren't and your note said you went to the store, but you should be home by now and-" he ran a hand through his nonexistent hair "If you were going to run away with that swamp rat, you could've at least been a man and say it to my face. Anyways, just call me...or text me...or just come home. In fact, why don't you just do all three. Kbye."

He hung up the phone. This was not like Gwen at all. She almost always answered any calls or at least sent a text explaining why she wouldn't be able to take any calls. Plus, it wasn't like her to be so late; especially on a night she had been so excited about.

_"Wow, we sounded really desperate in that voicemail."_

_**"We're her boyfriend. We're allowed to be worried about unusual happenings."**_

"Maybe she ran into Rogue or someone and is over at the X-Mansion and her phone's on silent and she hasn't been checking it because she's playing Just Dance 4 and-"

_**"Just call Rogue or Domino."**_

"Right." the mercenary dialed Domino's number, feeling more comfortable talking to her since he was closer with her than Rogue. It rang about two times before the former mercenary answered.

"Deadpool?" she asked.

"What? Is your caller ID broken?"

He could hear her snort.

"No. It's just since you and Raven hooked up you haven't really called me as much as you used to." she replied.

"Yeah, well...whatever." he paced around the apartment, looking out of the windows as if expecting to see Gwen walking through the harsh wind. He sighed in frustration and pushed away from the window in frustration.

"I was actually calling to ask if Gwen was over there."

Deadpool could practically hear Domino shake her head.

"Nope. We're actually on lockdown now. Nobody's allowed in or out."

"Lockdown?" he asked, "But last time you guys were on lockdown was when-"

"Was when the mutant abductions started. I know." she interjected "We actually just got a call from local authorities about a possible mutant abduction over at Lupita's Mercado."

"Lupita's? That's the place where Gwen gets the stuff for our tacos!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. You think it's her?"

Domino sighed heavily, wanting to pick her words carefully so she didn't send the mentally unstable mercenary into a tailspin.

"Well, to be honest, now that you brought that up it could be a possibility. But, please don't freak out. The abduction could've taken place after she left and Gwen could've stuck around to help out the authorities. You know how she is."

"Yeah...I do..."he replied, his mind wandering elsewhere. Gwen always was eager to help people, even if she didn't receive any payment in return. It would've been impossible for Wade to have imagined the dark haired beauty as one of the most deadly mercenaries the nation had to offer if he hadn't seen it himself.

"Look, if you want, meet us at Lupita's ok? Just make sure to behave. We won't be able to find her if you give the authorities a hard time." she instructed. He nodded.

"Or if Wolvie keeps stabbing me in the face, right?"

"Heh. Right. See ya there."

And with that, the line went dead. Wade slid his phone back into its pouch just in time to see Mr. Shugums trotting over to meet him with his ears perked up. Something in the dog's eyes showed worry, or maybe Wade really was going off the deep end.

He knelt down to scratch the dog behind the ears.

"She's fine, right, boy? She's just helping the police find out who kidnapped someone else." he said, mostly for his own comfort. The dog whined and tilted his head to the side as if to say 'I'm a fucking dog. How should I know?'

_"Ohhhh! Mr. Shugums is sassy!"_

_**"But he's got a point. Less time talking with Wonderdog and more time heading over to Lupita's."**_

"Got it." Wilson replied, standing up. As he exited his apartment once more, he recalled the events that occurred that morning. Everything was so picturesque; almost like a real life episode of I Love Lucy, but without the quirky mishaps.

Despite how cheesy it may sound, Deadpool didn't want to lose that. He had found the yin to his yang, the cheese to his Mac, and the grills to his gangster. She made him feel normal. She gave him an outlet back into the world they lived in.

If she wasn't at Lupita's, then Wade wasn't quite sure what he would do.

* * *

Choosing to walk, Deadpool arrived at the scene of the kidnapping about ten minutes after the X-Men. He had been dragging his heels since he reached the bottom floor of the apartment building. He really didn't want to face what his gut told him to be true.

"So, what's the sitch?" he asked, feigning his usual cockiness as he approached Domino and Wolverine, who were chatting with two police officers. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Rogue sobbing into Gambit's shoulder. That Louisiana devil, who always seemed so put together and in control, looked the most distraught and sad that Wade had ever seen him.

Yup, this was definitely not good.

"Wade, I think we should go and talk over there." Domino suggested, pointing across the street. Wade followed her finger to that place. It was dark, unpopulated, and definitely out of the range of the flashing red and blue lights.

"Why? Just tell me right here." the scarred mercenary insisted "I'm a big boy. I out on my Pull-Ups all by myself this morning."

"Wade, I don't think that's a good idea I-"

"Aw, just tell him!" Wolverine interjected "You're just prolonging the inevitable so just tell him what's going on now and get it over with!"

Domino gave Wolverine a sympathetic look. She knew that Raven's kidnapping had effected him, too, but in its own way. Logan was never the type to cry or let sadness dull the edge to his sharp attitude. He was very much like the adamantium that was his skeleton: unshakeable. But he was also human. He felt the pain of sadness and loss. So when it struck him, very much like an injured animal, he was extra grumpy.

"Wade, Gwen's gone." she said, looking back at the mercenary.

"Gone? What do you mean?" Wade asked, knowing exactly what she meant.

"They took her Wade. The Brotherhood." Domino said quickly, trying to make the situation like removing a Band-Aid; quick and painless. She waited for a moment, staring at the usually talkative man with an eyebrow raised. He usually would've said something by now. Some kind of witty comment or a verbal explosion. But he just stood there, staring right through her and to the forensic workers who were now putting Gwen's fallen belongings into air tight bags.

"Luckily for us, the security camera caught the whole thing so we might be able to ID some suspects and get a lead on where they took her and-"

His eyes caught sight of a bright red ribbon being gingerly lifted and placed into an evidence bag. It was the ribbon he had first tied in her hair for the Christmas family day at the X-Mansion. Gwen couldn't figure out what to do with her hair and Wade had snatched a red ribbon off her dresser and tied it around her head.

* * *

"There! Now you're all wrapped up and ready to be put under the tree!" he had exclaimed. She giggled and adjusted the ribbon in the mirror.

"More like under the fire. Ugh, I've never been good with other people's parents."

"Well, it's a good thing neither of us have any so we don't have to do that awkward meeting the parents phase." Wade replied, not realizing how hurtful that sentence could've been until after it came out of his mouth. However, instead of being upset, Gwen smirked and kissed his cheek.

"You're right. Guess we were made for each other after all." she giggled.

* * *

Deadpool looked on, his eyes following the ribbon as it joined the pile of other evidence. Her voice echoed through his skull and he could feel the pressure of her lips against his cheek.

"Where are they taking her stuff?" Wade asked. Domino was taken aback. She had been talking all this time about the details of Gwen's kidnapping and all he could ask about was her stuff? Typical Wade. It wasn't entirely his fault, though. His mental capacity prevented him from making any lasting and meaningful connection with anyone.

"Are you serious? I thought you actually cared about her. Don't you-"

"Cuz she still owes me money from that time I beat her in Super Smash Bros...and I can't have an extra key to my apartment just floating around..." he rambled, walking to the evidence table.

"Wade, come back with us. We can sort things out back at the X-Mansion." Domino said, grabbing Wade's arm and stopping him from walking further.

"But Gwen's coming home soon...she's gonna make tacos and we were gonna spend the night together...no research...no contracts...just her and...me."

His mouth closed and his already fucked up mind felt like it just got put into a blender on the 'obliterate' setting.

"Wade, are you ok?" Domino asked. She had seen him broken before, but never like this. He was so quiet and when he did speak his voice was so childlike and lost.

"What are the pigs doing?" he asked, his voice suddenly harsh and cold. The short haired woman didn't understand.

"The pigs?"

"Yes! The pigs!" he snapped, waving his arms at the police officers "Just what the fuck are they doing anyways?! Gathering evidence of another mutant kidnapping just so they can sweep it under the rug?!"

"Wade, calm down, ok? These people are doing the best they can-"

"No they aren't!" he roared "I bet you anything if a human girl was kidnapped they'd at least have a lead about the fucker who did it!"

"Alright, bub, it's time to go." Wolverine tried to interject, reaching for Wade's arm. The mercenary shrugged it off roughly and continued to stalk around the police officers and mock them.

"I bet if it was a God damned doughnut you guys would've sniffed it out by now!" he continued to rant, smacking a camera out of some guy's hand.

"Wade, we haven't even gotten the chance to look at the security footage. Let's just go back to the Mansion, watch the security footage, and see it we can find something." Domino suggested.

"Man, fuck that!"

Neena's patience was wearing thin. She had seen Wade fall off the deep end plenty of times, but now was neither the time or place.

"It wasn't a request." she growled, reaching for his arm, with her free hand on her gun.

At lighting speed, Wade grabbed Domino's arms with a surprising strength and pinned her up against the brick wall. In an instant, Wolverine had his claws on the base of the mercenary's skull. Gambit and Rogue occupied themselves by keeping both police officers and spectators at bay.

From this vantage point, Domino could see the level of distress and despair the other mercenary had fallen into. Even through his mask, it was apparent that he was hurting. She could see the fog exiting his mouth in short, ragged breaths.

**_"Maybe this is why we didn't have memories...cuz they hurt so much when the person we made them with is gone."_**

Wade knew he was holding Domino against the wall, but Gwen's beautiful face and kind eyes kept flashing before him. Over Neena's shocked expression, Gwen's sweet smile faded in and out of his field of vision.

"Wade." her voice rang through his ears "Wade, it's ok. I know you're hurting, but let Domino go. It's not her fault. It's not anybody's fault."

His grip loosened around Domino's arms and he let her go. Wolverine, after receiving a nod of approval from the briefly captive girl, drew his claws back inside his body.

"I'm sorry..." Wade apologized, looking down at the ground shamefully "It's just...Gwen promised me tacos and...I hadn't eaten all day so I'm really hungry and-"

"It's alright." she answered, placing a kind hand on his shoulder "You're upset. We all are, but we'll find her."

Wade turned slowly and wrapped his arms around the mutant woman. When he first met Gwen, he noticed how her appearance was so similar to his ex. Now that she was gone, the resemblance was almost uncanny. That and her image kept flashing over Domino's like a mirage.

_"I thought mirages only happened in the desert."_

_**"No. We're just crazy."**_

"Of course we will. She sucks at hide and seek." he replied, closing his eyes to shield them from the flashing lights. He closed them to escape from this reality and go back to just a few hours ago when he was laying in her arms and listening to the steady sound of her heart beating beneath her breast.

He promised he would protect her. Even if the others gave up the search, he had all the time in the world to find her.

His fists clenched behind Domino's back.

And he would make those who took her wish they'd never been born.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Answer by Sarah McLachlan_

_Crazy by Patsy Clein_

_My Immortal (Band Version) by Evanescence _

_Bittersweet Memories by Bullet for My Valentine _


	36. Chapter 36

_Wow, this is actually going on a lot longer than I expected. Not that I'm complaining! Anyways, I tried my best to sort of "recreate" a German accent here. Idk if I did well...I mean...I should've considering my Oma is straight from the place (Oma is German for grandmother, if you didn't know that)._

_Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, Deadpool, or anything that's not mine. I do own Raven and anyone else who is obviously mine and junk. Review and Enjoy!_

* * *

Raven stood screaming bloody murder underneath the ice cold water as people clad in biohazard suits scrubbed her body raw with rough brushes and disinfectant. So far, she had been back on Three Mile a grand total of three days. Each of those days had been about the same: locked up in a cage, making small talk with fellow prisoners, and getting fed slop and water. So far, she was spared from beatings and experiments, but not the torture.

Every day, starting at noon and ending at precisely three, her sister would play Patsy Clein loud and clear. Raven had been told by the prisoners that the Mistress of the island hadn't started this ritual until she had arrived on the island. She hadn't seen her since arriving on Three Mile.

The water abruptly turned off and Raven kicked and struggled against the chains that held her arms up over her head. The shackles cut into her wrists and blood began to trickle down her pale skin.

"Hurry up and get her jacket back on before she bleeds all over the floor!" one of the men who had been scrubbing her ordered.

"No! Please!" she screamed, thrashing even harder. Her sister had been kind enough to put Raven back in her former straightjacket. Now, that took some effort to do. Old fashioned straightjackets were hard enough to come by as it is. Finding the exact one used years ago and making it fully operational took a lot of legwork and wasn't just because Dana was being thrifty. Dana knew her elder sister's fears and how to exploit them very well.

"Shut up!" another man ordered, unlocking her restraints. She tried to make a break for it, but was futile. Two large men caught her by her arms and dragged her back into her jacket. Her pale skin glowed brightly as she tried to activate her powers as a last retort to escape. It was no use, their suits prevented any contact with their skin. They shoved her arms into the jacket and her legs into pants. Her feet were buckled tightly into two small sacks that served as shoes.

"Hurry and get the mask on her! It's fucking cold in here!"

Raven thrashed her head about furiously as another man approached her with a Hannibal Lector style mask in hand. It was the only new part of her prison outfit and she hated it more than anything. Even though she thought it looked awesome in the movie Silence of the Lambs, in practice it was probably one of the most horrible things Raven had ever worn. It made her feel like an animal and a dangerous one at that.

"No! No! No! Please!" she shrieked. She gnashed her teeth and tried her best to keep the headpiece away. One of the men restraining her wrapped a gloved hand around her long black hair and tugged it back to keep her from making any more futile attempts to escape.

This didn't do anything to stop her screaming, though. Even after they secured the mask around her face, her screams continued to echo through the empty showering area. Out of everyone imprisoned, only a few were allowed the privilege of singular showers. They couldn't risk Raven rubbing up against a fellow prisoner and absorbing powers to possibly give her the means to escape.

"Ugh! Will somebody shut her up!" another yelled once the mask was secure "She's worse than that siren chick we've got!"

"Alright! Alright!" a man replied. Raven could hear him grab a rifle from the corner of the room. Out of her peripherals, she could see him walk towards her with one hand on the barrel, preparing to strike her with the butt.

She knew what was coming next: blackness. In the three days she had been there, it was the darkness she feared most. It was full of uncertainty. Full of the screaming and crying of fellow inmates. Full of Raven's own silent mourning for the normal life that had been ripped from her hands.

One rough thrust, a sickening thud of wood against flesh, and a final cry of pain and Raven's world once again faded into blackness.

* * *

When Raven's vision returned to the realm of the conscious, her senses were immediately flooded with the wailing and screaming of her fellow captives. Dull, yellow fluorescent lights shone down upon them all, reminding each and everyone of those held captive exactly where they were.

Raven's teeth clenched beneath her mask and she struggled to sit up in her straightjacket. Her hair, still damp from the rough bathing she had received earlier, swung in front of her eyes as she crossed her legs.

It was so hard for her to believe that just three days ago she was laying in the muscular arms of Wade Wilson in the comfort and safety of their apartment. They had been watching reruns of the Fresh Prince and making Mr. Shugums chase his tail. She felt so safe and carefree. Her life had finally fallen into place.

But now. Now her life, much like that of the young Icarus, had flown too close to the sun and the feathers that had lifted her were now falling off one by one. Now, she was being forced back down to earth. Back to her former and true reality. Back down to where multiple cycles of death, beatings, and torture are the only things that are certain.

"Dammit." she hissed through her teeth, feeling wetness trickle from her eyes and onto her skin. Her memories flashed across her field of vision as she thought about all the people she would no longer get to see. She would never get to play poker with Gambit, watch movies with Rogue, go shooting with Domino, or talk with Wolverine in the garden of the X-Mansion. But what hurt the most was that she would never again hear Wade Wilson's constantly running mouth as he went through his day to day activities.

That was it. She couldn't help it. Tears rolled out of her eyes in fat waves down her cheeks. Loud wails escaped her lips and mingled with the wailing of her fellow prisoners. Her body heaved and shook furiousness of her sobbing. Her lungs tightened within her and forced blood to join the tear droplets on the concrete.

"Hey...hey...hey!" a voice shouted over the sadness. Raven knew that voice. It belonged to the obviously German woman imprisoned in the cell next to her. Judging from the heavy metal headgear that covered her blonde hair, Raven could determine she was a telepath. Anything else about her remained a mystery to the currently sobbing woman.

"You are a strong one, no?" the woman edged herself closer to the bars that separated them "I can tell. You 'ave been 'ere before?"

Raven attempted to wipe away her tears and scoot closer to the bars.

"Yeah...how can you tell?"

The woman shrugged. From this close perspective, Raven could see how starved this woman was. Her shoulder blades poked out from underneath a raggedy shirt and her cheeks were horribly sunken in. A faint trail of freckles made their way from cheek to cheek over the bridge of her small nose.

"I am vat you vould like to call a 'telepath' and-"she tapped the metal headgear "Even though zis limits my abilities, it does not negate zem completely."

"Guess you're pretty strong, huh?" Raven asked, her voice cracking due to her inability to cease her crying. The woman shrugged.

"I am a class 5. But zis headpiece makes me no more zan a common street psychic."

Raven shrugged.

"Better than being rendered completely useless." she indicated her various restraints. The woman smiled and chuckled.

"I might as vell be. My name is Hilda Bauer by ze vay."

"Gwen Pierce." Raven replied, before snorting "But I'm sure you knew that too."

Hilda nodded.

"Ja. But it iz alvays nice to do introductions ze normal vay."

Raven chuckled, tears still falling from her face. She had no idea how long this woman had been imprisoned, but judging from her gaunt appearance it was probably a long time. It was nice to see she hadn't lost her sense of humor, though.

"I suppose."

The German woman nodded and rested her head against the bars of the cage. That headpiece must be insanely heavy. Poor girl. Maybe Raven did have it somewhat easy as far as restraints went.

"So, vill you tell me vhy it iz zat you vere crying?" the woman asked, looking up at her companion with striking blue eyes. Raven tried to wipe the tears away.

"You should know that, shouldn't you? Or is this part of the whole 'normal' thing?" she asked. Hilda shook her head.

"No. More like a mizunderztanding. You vere thinking happy thoughts, no?"

Raven nodded.

"Yeah. They were. But this place seems to turn everything good into some kind of poison."

"Only if you let it." Hilda replied with a wise smile. Raven shrugged, wishing her arms were free so she could rub the tears from her eyes. She knew her new German friend was right. But how could she turn those memories back into good ones? The only way she could imagine was if there was any hope of escaping like last time. Last time she had Gambit, who had managed to smuggle away a gambling chip from playing poker with the guards. Now, under Dana's iron fist, there would be no room for error by the authorities. Escape seemed to be unthinkable.

"You escaped from zis place once before, no?"

"Yeah, but it's not like I did it on my own. My friend did most of the work."

Hilda nodded, her smile still plastered on her face.

"Ja. You seem to hold your friends very dear."

Raven nodded.

"Yeah. They're the best I could've ever asked for."

"Tell me about them, pleaze. I 'ave my own memories of friends to look back on. It would be so nice to hear about other friends for a change. "

Raven sighed deeply. Her lungs had finally stopped hurting and her sobs had just reduced themselves into mere crying. Now, this woman, who had seemed so kind, was now trying to rehash old wounds to satisfy her own curiosity. No, she shouldn't think so harshly of the first person to show her kindness in this place. If all she wanted were a few memories, then Raven should do her best to provide.

"Well, Cable was the first real friend I had ever made. He's a mutant and can travel through time and a whole bunch of other cool shit. He taught me everything I know. And even though we had a bit of a falling out, he's basically like my dad."

Hilda nodded, her eyes full of warmth.

"Sounds nice. But zere are more. Vat about zat red eyed fellow?"

"You mean Gambit?" Raven asked, feeling a bit less sad "Yeah, he was the guy who broke me out of this place the first time. We lived together in Louisiana for about two years before I had to move."

"You 'ad a good time in ze Bayou?"

Raven smirked. Hearing 'bayou' said in such a thick German accent was the funniest thing she had heard in three days.

"Yeah...you know...for a while I honestly thought he and I were going to end up together, but he had serious commitment issues...or at least that's what Rogue told me. I think he managed to work them out though, but not in time to snag me."

Hilda nodded again. She had seen the man who Raven had claimed as her love in her mind already. It was the memories of him that caused her the most pain. But it was also the memories of him that would give her the most strength.

"And who iz zis Rogue?" she asked. Raven wiped her face with her shoulder and scooted closer to her new friend.

"She's my best friend. She taught me how to be a lady and helped me snag my boyfriend." Raven felt the corners of her lips twitch in a ghost if a smile. Some feelings of happiness fluttered around Raven's belly.

"And then there's Domino. Even though she's my boyfriend's ex, we get along really well and I really like her. Especially when we go out gambling. She can manipulate luck or something like that." she continued, feeling happier and happier as she recounted her old memories "And Wolverine makes the best sparring buddy. Even though he's really short and fuzzy and calls me 'bub' all the time, he's a super awesome guy and a great headmaster!"

Hilda nodded, the pressure of the headgear proving to be too much for her, and laid down.

"Sounds like you 'ave quite a nice group of friends, but zere is one among your memories who you 'ave not talked about. He seems to appear a lot. He iz 'orribly scarred and 'as quite a motormouth."

Raven smiled a genuinely happy smile and laid back on the floor. For a moment, she could picture herself back in her room at the X-Mansion; laying on her bed and talking to Rogue and Domino about her affections for a certain red clad mercenary. She could feel the softness of the quilt beneath her and hear Domino's warnings about how her crush's constant talking would make her want to load a bullet in her brain. Rogue scolded her and said that if love was blind, then it was probably deaf also.

"Oh yeah...that's Wade...well...most people call him Deadpool, but I usually don't."

"And he iz your boyfriend?"

Raven nodded and smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up slightly and her chest puff out in pride.

"Yeah. He is. He's been through practically all the same shit I have." Raven explained "'Cept he's scarred on the outside and is totally bonkers. But even though he's crazy and all, I think he's the best boyfriend ever. I'm never bored and we've never had a serious argument. And don't even get me started on how he is in bed."

"Oh, do tell." Hilda said, rolling onto her side "It 'az been so long since I 'ave felt the touch of a man."

"Well..." Raven rolled over onto her side as well "Let me just say there's more than one reason he's called 'The Merc with a Mouth'."

The two women shared a giggle. It was almost as if they were at a morbidly themed slumber party rather than imprisoned on an island of nightmares.

"You see!" Hilda pointed at the laughing woman "Zat iz vat you must think of next time you feel like breaking. Latch onto those feelings next time they try to take your humanity from you. Think of ze ones you care about when we break out of zis place."

Raven laughed and rolled onto her back, staring at the fluorescent lights.

"And how do you propose we do that?"

Hilda laughed and rolled onto her back, joining Raven in her light gazing.

"I honestly 'aven't the slightest clue, but I'm sure we can figure something out."

"I hope so." Raven replied. Breaking out of this shithole would be their best bet of seeing the light of day since her sister had installed a top of the line cloaking device money could buy. It explained why neither Raven, nor the X-Men, nor anyone else was able to find the damn place. Oh well, at least the location was in the same area Raven had triangulated on her computer. She had just wished she had given somebody the code to it so they could find all the research she had done to find this place and take it down.

But for now, she would take Hilda's advice and focus on keeping her memories happy so that she could maintain her humanity and maintain her drive to get the hell out of there. To reunite with her friends and tell the man she loved just how much she cared about him.

She could do this. She could survive.

* * *

_Song(s) Used:_

_Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten by Arvo Pärt_

_I Found a Reason by Cat Power_

_Do You Hear the People Singing from Les Miserables _


	37. Chapter 37

_Wow, getting pretty good at posting regularly so far right? Well, thank the fact that my schedule has finally slowed down at least for a weekend. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Deadpool, or anything else that is obviously not mine. I do own Raven, Hilda, and any other OC I have already mentioned. Review and Enjoy!_

* * *

It had been three months. Three months since Wade had last seen Gwen. Three months since he felt the softness of her skin or smelled the sweetness of her hair. Three months since the mercenary got his ass off the couch and did anything productive.

Piles of garbage overflowed from each trashcan. The sink was filled with three months worth of dirty dishes, takeout boxes, and moldy leftovers. Stacks of warnings, bills, and spam mail spilled over the kitchen counter and onto the once spotless floor. The once pristine apartment, that had always smelled of something delicious, had fallen back into its former state of disrepair.

And so had its sole occupant.

Wade Wilson sat on the couch he had purchased with his lost girlfriend, flipping through the various television stations blindly. No longer bound to a schedule of contracts and responsibilities, Wilson did what he wanted. And what he wanted for about three months now, was to just magically fuse to the couch so he could fade from existence.

Some days, he wished for Gwen to come back. Others, he wanted to find her himself. And sometimes, he even wished she had never came into his life at all.

_**"If you want to get technical about it, it was us who came into her life."**_

"We're not known for having the best decision making skills, now are we?" Wade grumbled, flipping the channel.

_"Gwen was the best decision we've ever made!"_

Deadpool snorted and scratched at his bare stomach. Since Gwen disappeared, he hadn't even bothered to get dressed in his uniform; other than his mask and some Deadpool themed boxers, of course. She had loved him in that thing. She had said he looked like a true hero.

But what kind of hero couldn't save his girl? What kind of hero was rendered completely useless from the disappearance of said girl?

_**"Even Superman had his kryptonite."**_

"Wrong franchise, buddy." he stopped channel surfing and decided to watch his former favorite lady, Bea Arthur, in action, "Besides, I'm no Superman."

_"Gwen thought you were."_

It was true. Gwen would often bestow the title of 'hero' or 'superman' upon him for the most trivial things. When he saved her from a large spider in the shower it was 'Oh, my hero!' followed with a kiss. When he carried all of the groceries up from downstairs because the elevator was broken it was 'You're my superman!".

Those little things at the time didn't mean that much to him. But now that she wasn't around to say them anymore, they were all he wanted to hear.

"Yeah, well, Gwen's not here. She's never going to be here again."

_"Never say never!"_

"What am I turning into now? God damned Justin Bieber?" Wade scoffed, taking a swig out of his bottle of whiskey, "Can it, all of you. I'm trying to watch some Bea Arthur here. Besides, it's not like anyone's come closer to finding her."

Despite all their efforts, nobody had even come close to determining Raven's location. The security tapes from Lupita's only gave them the IDs of only two of the kidnappers; both mutants with tons of priors who had both been reported as missing long before the kidnappings even started. The van they had shoved her limp body in was reported stolen from one of the projects in Detroit and that was about it.

The one place they hadn't checked was Raven's computer; which everyone knew was chock full of information from her research. However, nobody knew the password and all efforts to crack the code had proven useless. Now, the large, flat, black rectangle sat on Raven's side of the bed, serving no other purpose than to remind Wade of her constant absence.

He dug his free hand into his seventh bag of pork rinds and grabbed a handful of the fatty treat. He shoved it under his mask and into his mask, which wreaked of body odor, vomit, and blood. His shower had long since broken and he hadn't gotten around to fixing it due to the fact that the memory of how proud Gwen had been when she had finally fixed it. They had christened it almost as soon as Wade entered the newly refurbished shower.

His doorbell rang, but Wade just turned up the volume on the TV. He hadn't ordered any take out, so all other company was completely unwelcome.

Even Mr. Shugums plaintively raised up his tired, sad head from his bed and stared at the door for a moment. He refused to get up and see who was knocking. He couldn't even manage to bark. Instead, the poor thing just rested his head back on his pillow to stare at his master.

The doorbell rang again, this time followed by a harsh banging, and some unintelligible shouting.

"Whatever it is your selling: I don't want it." he took another swig of his beer "I don't want to accept Christ into my life. I don't wanna watch your band perform and I don't wanna volunteer at the homeless shelter. I just want to be left alone!"

"That's all you've been doing, Wade! Now open up!"

That voice. It was Domino. He would answer the door for her. Her company was like a double edged sword. On one side, she looked so much like Gwen that it was almost like being with her again. On the other, she looked so much like Gwen that it constantly reminded him that she wasn't gone.

"Hold on, Dom, hold on! I'm not exactly decent!" Deadpool shouted, making sure everything was at least tucked in so he was decent when he answered the door.

"I've seen you in worse, Wade! Now open up! I've got something important to tell you!"

"Hmph. If it was that important you should've at least called or sent a text first!" he shouted back. He could hear her laugh. Minus the obvious differences in height, hair length, and personality, it was Domino's voice and laugh that gave her away whenever he found himself seeing Raven in her.

"Yeah, well that would be a good idea if you would actually answer your phone!"

Wade shook his head and a ghost of a smirk crossed his face. He could see Chimmi run in, his claws sliding on the wood, barking loudly. He was the only thing in the lonely and decrepit apartment that did not show any sign of being effected by Raven's accent. It was probably due to the fact that he had never gotten the privilege of meeting her.

Wade unlocked the door, doing his best to keep the happily barking pit bull from jumping and licking Domino all over.

"Wow! New dog?" she exclaimed as she entered the apartment. Her nose wrinkled at the horrid smell of the apartment. She had visited multiple times while Raven was living there. The apartment smelled nice and was clean. It was hard to believe that it was transformed back into this state of disrepair in such a short amount of time. If you could call three months short.

"Yeah...name's Chimmi...ya know, like Chimmichanga." Wade explained, closing and locking the door behind him. Chimmi calmed down once Domino scratched the sweet spot behind his ear.

"Ah, I see." she looked over at Mr. Shugums, who hadn't stirred in the slightest since her entry.

"Got bored with Mr. Shugums after all this time?" she joked. Deadpool sighed and rubbed the back of his head, sadly.

"Nah. Gwen said he could use a buddy so...well...you know."

Domino let her hand drop from the odd looking pit's ears, watching as the dog happily trotted over to the couch and sat down as if he was watching Bea Arthur with the same type of enthusiasm Wade held for her. It would've made her laugh if it was a different time. Now, it was just sad.

"Wade, I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bring up anything bad." she apologized. Wade shrugged and sat down on the couch next to Chimmi.

"Everything sucks nowadays, Dom. Don't beat yourself up over it. Now, what can good ol' DP do for you today?"

His phrasing was joking, but his tone and lack of a smile revealed he was in an incredible amount of pain.

"Well," Domino sighed and sat on the chair adjacent to the couch "You can start by coming with me back to the X-Mansion with Raven's laptop."

"With my busy schedule? Ha! You really should've called to schedule an appointment."

"I'm serious, Wade." she leaned forward with her hands folded in between her knees. She took a deep breath, thinking very carefully about her next words. It would not be wise to say anything too hopeful. After all, they had no idea if what Kyle found in Raven's old room would lead to anything. But the letter, Kyle found behind a hidden compartment above the bed could quite possibly contain the code they needed to break into Raven's laptop and give them some sort of lead to her location.

"We think we found the code to Raven's computer."

Deadpool froze completely, hardly taking a breath or even making the slightest noise. The news was so uncertain, but so full of hope. If they could crack Raven's computer then they could probably find her. Or at least get on the track to finding her.

"Wade, she left a letter behind a false panel above her bed." Domino continued, figuring it would be safe to do so, "Kyle found it...you know he moved into her old room right? Well, he and his girlfriend Penny were getting...well...intimate, for lack of a better term, and the panel just popped right off. All that was inside was a letter. Now, you and I both know Raven wouldn't leave a letter of any kind lying around for no reason. We think it could be a clue. Something she left in case of emergencies."

Deadpool felt as if he was just hit in the head with a piece of rebar. His world was shaking before his very eyes. He could see Gwen curled up with Mr. Shugums on the floor wearing that white sundress and red ribbon in her hair. She gave the dog a kiss on the head and smiled up at him.

"Come find me, Wade. Be my superhero and come find me." she beckoned. He reached a scarred hand towards her, wishing with all of his might to just tuck a stray lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I miss you, Wade." her voice cracked like it was coming from an old recording that had been overplayed and her dark eyes welled up with tears "Please, Wade."

There was a snapping sound. Where was that coming from? Raven wasn't snapping at him. Then who was?

"Wade...Wade...WADE!" Domino yelled snapping her fingers in front of his face. He blinked, causing the mirage of Raven to fade and be replaced with Domino's own concerned face.

"So, did you hear me?" she asked. He nodded. How could he have missed it? It was the first good news he had heard since Raven had disappeared.

"Yeah. I heard you. When do we leave?"

The corner of Domino's mouth curled up into a crooked smirk. Even though it wasn't in its entirety by far, but the old Deadpool was beginning to rear its crazy head. And it was an amazing thing to see.

"We can leave in five if you hurry."

"I won't even shower!" he exclaimed, rushing past Domino towards his bedroom.

Judging by how badly he wreaked of body odor and other unpleasant smells, he needed a shower or to at least be quarantined. However, she wouldn't quell his enthusiasm. Especially when they were all on the first trail to Raven that didn't appear to be a dead end.

* * *

"Alright, fuckers. What do we got here?" Deadpool asked as he and Domino burst through the doors of the war room. From what he could see, the gang was all there: Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Storm, Kyle, and Penny. The only one who was missing was Cable, but he probably was stuck in some sort of time paradox or something.

Wolverine's nose wrinkled as the foul smelling Deadpool got within range. He couldn't complain too much about the foul odor, though. The stinky mercenary held what could be the key to finding Raven under his arm.

"Well, now we've got Raven's laptop we might have a lead on finding Three Mile." he said as the laptop was slid onto the table. The rest of the group gathered around as Domino plugged a charger into the computer and turned it on.

"I still don't see how this Dana could make an entire island disappear! I could've sworn it was right there!" Gambit exclaimed, pointing at a blank spot on a nearby map, "But no matter how many times we flew over it, there was no sign of anything being there at all!"

"Maybe Gwen's got something on her laptop." Rogue said "I mean, she had been working on finding the damn place for such a long time."

"Well, we won't get anywhere if we can't figure out the password." Kyle grumbled, crossing his arms. Penny produced the letter and slid it across the table to Deadpool.

"You were the closest to her out of all of us." Penny told him "Maybe you can figure out the password from this."

Deadpool took the letter out of its envelope and opened it.

"I'm not really known for my exceptional sleuthing, Flower Child, but if you insist."

His eyes looked down at the slightly yellowing page of the letter.

"Dear Whoever is Reading This," her familiar neat print wrote "If you are reading this, that means you found my secret hiding place. I've cleared it of anything good (money, porn, candy...you get it). But since I moved out, I don't really have a need for a secret hiding spot anymore. However, I did think it would be smart to leave a letter here in case anything screwy happens to me. I mean, with all the mutant abductions going on, you gotta be prepared right? Anyways, there's too much I need to say to whoever you are and not enough ink in my pen. You can find what you need on my computer. But, just so the wrong people don't get the wrong information, I'm not just gonna write my password on here. I will leave you a hint, though. And it's a hint that only the one I trust the most will be able to know. Ok, here it goes:

What's our song?

Ok, that's it. Happy guessing!

From,

Gwen Pierce"

She must've ran out of ink at that point because of how faded the last two letters were at the end of her name. Luckily she wrote down everything, but what did she mean by 'our song'?

Deadpool set the letter down and stared and the blue login screen of Gwen's laptop. They had mentioned a few options of what their personal song could be, but had never agreed to anything in particular. It appeared as if she had made her decision herself, though.

"Well, any ideas as to what could be 'our song'?" Storm asked, running her fingers through her snowy hair. The room was silent for what seemed like an eternity before anyone spoke up.

"Well...our song is a Taylor Swift song...maybe that's it?" Penny suggested. Wade rolled his eyes, not really understanding why this chick was here in the first place. She had met Gwen a total of, what, three times? She wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Kyle.

"Gwen hates Taylor Swift...thinks she's a skank and a poser." he said, "Moving on."

"She did really seem to like when we danced to 'A Change is Gonna Come'. It was the first time she smiled since escaping Three Mile the first time." Gambit piped up, smiling as he recalled the memory fondly. He had held her close that night and truly felt how small and fragile she was. But he had already seen what she wad capable of doing. She was so strong that it made sense that nobody else would've even thought she was so delicate on the inside; that even she needed a shoulder to lean on every now and again.

He could feel her tears on his shirt that night, but they weren't tears of sadness. They were tears of happiness. He could tell by the way she smiled and clung to him with such a desperate air about her. If he hadn't dragged his feet, he probably would be in the same boat Wade was in now. But even though Gwen and he were never an item and would probably never be one, that didn't mean Gambit didn't stop caring about her. In fact, he felt the same pain as Deadpool, even though it didn't reflect as much on the outside.

Domino shook her head after typing in the guess.

"Nope. That's not it. Any other ideas?"

The room once again fell silent as they scrambled together any possible ideas. Gwen's tastes in music were about as sporadic as Wade's train of thought. Narrowing down just one song would be difficult and time consuming. And time wad not something they had right now.

_"We were bouncing around two songs that night with Gwen."_

_**"Yeah, but what were they?"**_

_"Can't we just flip back a couple of chapters?"_

_**"Nah, that's only for the readers. We've gotta think for ourselves for this one."**_

_"Unless the author wants to give us a hint?"_

_**"Don't count on it. That bitch is crazy."**_

Realization hit Wade like a ton of bricks. Out of the two songs they had been discussing that night, it was that one that held the most meaning for Gwen. It was the song that she knew the best and had listened to for years.

"Crazy." he blurted out.

"There's no room for crazy, here, Wade. If we want any hope of finding Raven, we've gotta buckle down and figure this out." Domino replied. Wade shook his head and slid Domino's chair aside, pulling his own up to the table.

"I'm not crazy. The song-our song- is." he said, typing his guess into the white rectangle. He hit the enter key and crossed his fingers.

Her desktop loaded onto the screen with some charming welcome music. Her wallpaper was a picture of the two of them from a walk they took in Central Park. His red suit and her all black attire made the two of them stick out from the white snow like sore thumbs. A red knit flower contrasted against her black hat perfectly and Mr. Shugums could be seen frolicking in the distance. She had insisted on having the photo taken after he had started a snowball fight. Even though he didn't want it taken, he felt bad because he had accidentally hit her in the face with a snowball. He was glad to see the picture wasn't just collecting dust somewhere.

"Well, I'll be God damned, you actually did it!" Wolverine exclaimed as the group collectively scooted closer.

"Psh. Of course I did. You think she would pick anything you losers have up in those puny brains of yours." he scoffed.

"Actually, if you wanna get technical, anyone's intelligence is actually determined by the amount of ridges on the brain, rather than the actual size of the brain." Kyle chimed in as he slid his chair closer to the computer screen.

Wade rolled his eyes as they all waited for the computer to load completely.

"Well, well, look who's going to school and learning junk." he grumbled.

Suddenly, a video chat box popped up onto the screen. Once it came into focus, everyone could tell who it was.

"Raven?" Rogue exclaimed.

"Turn it up, Scarface!" Wolverine ordered.

"Thanks for figuring out the password, Deadpool. Could you please turn up the volume, Deadpool?" Deadpool mumbled, but obliging his request. It had been so long since he had actually heard Gwen's voice and he was just as eager to hear what she had to say as anyone else. Maybe even more.

"Hey. If you are watching this, then you managed to get only my computer using my alternate password. Also, you're either Wade or someone who got Wade to tell you what our song is, which would mean that you're probably one, or all of the X-Men." she waved at the camera "Hi guys!"

"Hey, babe." Wade whispered, touching the screen with his fingertips. Her voice sounded even more angelic than he had imagined it to be.

"Anyways, I set this whole thing up so I could direct you through the shitstorm of information that is my laptop." she continued. A red arrow suddenly appeared on the screen.

"I'll walk you through everything through this camera and this handy dandy arrow, here. So, let's begin."

Gambit rubbed his hands together.

"Ah, now we gettin somewhere!"

"Leave it to Gwen to make an entire walkthrough on how to use her computer. Damn thing must be loaded with crap." Kyle commented.

"Just shut up, kid." Wolverine growled "This is our first lead in months and we can't afford to waste it."

The red arrow made its way across the desktop and clicked on a file labeled ' '. A window opened, full of various videos and other files, all in very precise order.

"This contains all of the security footage, video, and anything relating to the experiments on Three Mile back when the first group of nut jobs started experimenting on mutants." Raven explained. The window scrolled up and highlighted a file labeled 'Deadpool'.

"Wade..." her black eyes making direct contact with the camera. They were so sad and full of pain, but why?

"Wade, if you're watching this, this is the file that holds all of the information known about you before you lost your memory." Raven's voice cracked as if she was about to cry "I can't stop you from looking, but I'm warning you not to...and if anyone else is watching this...don't let Wade watch or read anything in here...I did and...it's not pretty, to say the least."

Deadpool felt his brow furrow as the red arrow exited out of the ' ' file. She had stressed so much importance over memories, but now that he had the opportunity to have some of his old memories back she didn't want him to see. And all because it just wasn't pretty?

_"Maybe it has something to do with all of our nightmares?"_

_**"Maybe. It would be best to focus more on finding Gwen anyways instead of worrying about ourselves. It's not like these files are going anywhere."**_

_"True."_

The red arrow clicked on her tracking program and scrolled through a list of locations until it finally clicked on a file called 'Three Mile'. A map opened up and three small green dots placed themselves in a perfect triangle right over the direct spot Gambit was pointing to earlier. The same spot they had scoured for the location of an island that had just disappeared, seemingly overnight.

"Now, I know we didn't have any luck finding the island before, but all my research does indicate that it should be here." she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She must've been exhausted; both mentally and physically.

"Dana could've done anything: sunk the island and created an underwater base, used all the psychics she could find to fuck around with anyone's radar, or, what I think she did, she could've somehow gotten her hands on a really high tech cloaking device." she explained, shaking her head.

"It's crazy, but I think she's had this device all along; which may be why nobody's been able to find her anywhere. But it shouldn't be that hard to break. A couple of missiles should do the trick. And if that doesn't, well, I'm sure you will figure out something."

"I can't believe it." Storm placed a hand over her mouth "It was right under our noses the whole time."

Anger and frustration hit Deadpool like a ton of bricks. He had flown over that damn blank spot in the ocean dozens of times with the X-Men and not once had anyone seen anything that looked close to an island, minus a few whales.

"That's all I really have to say for now. But don't worry, I've made a video for each thing you click on so you can see my steps and actually hear me explain stuff. And don't worry, you won't have to hear me give this same speech every time you log in either." she gave them a warm smile "But if you did find this on your own and are watching this then something really bad has happened to me. I don't want you to go out of your way for me, though. I won't die, no matter what hell they out me through. Just worry about those without a super cool healing factor."

She stopped and looked over the computer screen. It was then that the group noticed that she had been filming this in her old room at the X-Mansion. She must've started planning this a long time ago. It was very wise of her.

"You guys are the best friends I could've ever asked for." she told them "And Wade, you'll always be my hero. No matter what happens, ok? I'm just sorry things ended up this way."

She paused to wipe some tears from her eyes. It looked like she wanted to say something else. Wade could tell from the look on her face.

"Alright, that's it. Bye."

And with that, both the red arrow and Raven disappeared from the computer screen. Wade clenched his fists and stood up abruptly.

"So when are we leaving?" he asked, his tone oddly serious. Domino smiled up at him, relieved to see most of his old fire had returned. In fact, it seemed as if a fire had just been lit within the hearts of everyone there. They were all burning as a team.

"Tomorrow morning." Wolverine replied, "We have to make sure the kids are taken care of and the Blackbird is completely fueled and combat ready."

"We should also load the data from Raven's computer into the Blackbird as well." Rogue suggested "We don't wanna be shootin in the dark again."

Wolverine nodded.

"Alright. So, we'll meet back here tomorrow morning and be out by dawn."

The group nodded collectively, mumbles of threats and guesses as to what they might run into on the island spreading like wildfire. And although Wade was never too keen on waking up at dawn for anything, he wasn't complaining now.

Tomorrow he would get Gwen back. Tomorrow he would charge back into Three Mile with guns a blazing and save the damsel in distress.

Even though nobody else thought so, he was a hero. Wade Wilson was a fucking hero and tomorrow, he would prove it to everyone.

* * *

_Song(s) Used: _

_A Change is Gonna Come by The Neville Brothers_

_Kryptonite by Three Doors Down_

_Hero by Foo Fighters_


End file.
